Wellness Programme for Elders to be Extended Islandwide

By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia

March 15, 2009

Singapore

Minister-in-charge of Aging Issues, Lim Boon Heng, wants to extend the Wellness Programme for the elderly across the whole of Singapore by year-end, with some form of the scheme in every constituency by end-2011. 

A pilot scheme was launched a year ago in 12 constituencies to help keep the elderly both mentally and physically fit. 

Singapore currently has about 300,000 citizens above the age of 65. By 2030, that figure is expected to balloon to 900,000. 

One big issue here is that many elderly lead sedentary lives, and some are lonely, to boot. 

As an initial step, the programme aims to get them out and about with a fun social event right at their doorstep, while taking other measures to ensure they remain healthy. 

One of the key features of the Wellness Programme is health screening for the elderly. And it was found that one third of those screened had some sort of health risk condition. 

Follow-up action is then a must, unlike other community-type screenings. 

Despite the recession, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at a wellness carnival on Sunday that the government remains committed to investing in such schemes. 

And despite plans to expand, Mr Lim noted that not as much funding might be needed. 

He said: "For the pilot scheme, we had a budget of S$400,000 per site for two years. But I think we will learn whether the budget is enough or whether it is actually more than enough, because I think we can make use of existing facilities and programmes. We will see how much is being spent because I understand that funds are actually under-utilised at the moment." 

Mr Lim said while Jurong, the pilot constituency, had used more than half the funds allocated to it, some other constituencies had used only a quarter of theirs

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