The Voluntary Wwelfare Organisations (VWOs) have a long tradition of providing health services in Singapore which include the following :-
Community hospitals are for patients, especially elderly patients, who require longer inpatient care, but who do not require the high technology and sophisticated care of acute hospitals. The patients admitted should also have rehabilitation potential. There are currently 4 hospitals providing a total of 426 community hospital beds.
Chronic sick hospitals admit long stay patients who have no rehabilitation potential but require medical and nursing care. Two such hospitals are currently in place, with 218 beds.
Nursing homes provide primary nursing care, with little or no medical care. Hospices are for the terminally ill and they provide medical and nursing care as well as social support (religious support and bereavement counselling). There are 47 nursing homes with 4,705 beds, with 23 homes being run by VWOs (3,241 beds) and 24 homes by the commercial sector (1,464 beds).
These are rehabilitation centres for the elderly suffering from senile dementia, the terminally ill and frail elderly. Seventeen day rehabilitation centres provide 700 places for frail and sick elderly, while 3 day care centres provide 86 places for elderly with senile dementia.
The are home nursing services, home medical and home help services available to the home-bound elderly. About 4% of the elderly in Singapore receive some form of help care services. |
