Ya I agreed that the edlerly here should be treated better.

My mum,. a stroke and scherphornia patient, needed alot of care as she is old and frail (she is 77 years old).

My brother and I could not put her in the old folks home as we believe that home is the best place for her to spend her golden years howevery frugal it will be.

We both share to get a Indonesian maid to care for her.

I have seen families put their loved ones in old folks home and their conscience plugged at them whenever we talked about it. Apparently, there is no choice as no one will want to take care of a dependent old person as it is not only inconvenient but time consuming. Some siblings rather chriped in their respective share and put their elderly parents out of their sight.

I asked myself when I am old will I want to go to an old folks home and spend my last days there? The same answer will apply to those that we put away.

well said…
“”"I asked myself when I am old will I want to go to an old folks home and spend my last days there?”"”

maid is really V impt..

my dad also get a maid to take care my grandmother(80 year old)

I have an idea on how to solve this problem and am still working on it.

It’s pretty revolutionary and radical, but the problem will be solved in an inkling.

The elderly will be kept happy in their last years and it’ll also solve our greying problem.

panter92 (#3)

Not surprised if you intend to force euthanasia and/or the Advanced Medical Directive on these old folks. After all, Singapore need their organs to set up Singapore as an organ trading hub.

I already said, they will die a natural death and feeling happy and useful too.

I don’t support euthanasia. It’s against all ethics. I cannot believe Khaw BW suggested such a solution.

The elderly will be kept happy in their last years and it’ll also solve our greying problem. – Panter92 (#3)

How does that work out? Where does the money come from to fund such a programme?

Not much money is involved. The facilities are already present. So a little revamping is all that’s required.

panter92(#7)

What is it then? If the solution and facilities are already there, why isn’t the government implementing it? Btw old folks’ home is not a solution but a terrible stop-gap that accept resignation.

No, not old folks home. But it can be converted to something else. I’m still working it out.

But it’s got something to do with making the elderly feel they are still useful till their last breath. And if they know they’re useful, they’ll be happy isn’t it?

I’m not going to divulge further my plans here.

It is easily said – to keep the elderly sick at home.

My mother in her eighties now suffers from total dementia and is totally incontinent. Impossible to keep her at home in a apartment, with no maid and irregular cooking.
The better nursing homes in Singapore are actually quite nice and spacious. The quiet predictable environment seems to be doing her a lot of good.

I think old folks home better because i employ a maid looking after my father in law but he ended up molesting the maid, causing much trouble.

According to Khaw Boon Wan, Minster for Health, it could be contemplated that Singaporean send their elderly to retirement in Bintan, enjoy the low cost and abundant land, it all dollar and cents you see…

But apparently, PAP members of parliament aren’t too good at that, and we should actually “be thankful” to have them lose it.

But it’s got something to do with making the elderly feel they are still useful till their last breath. And if they know they’re useful, they’ll be happy isn’t it? – Panter92 (#9)

Only in Singapore, you see old folks competing with youths foe meagre jobs working at McDonalds’. If that is not a sign of the PAP-led Singapore dream gone wrong, what is?

smallvice,

When I say feel useful, I do NOT mean work for money. I mean that they carry out activities that make them feel useful. No, I don’t think our parents, after all that they’ve been through raising up their children, etc., should they still work the last of their breaths out for money. The state should provide for them in an ingenius way.

And this way is still being worked out.

Government says that Singapore workers are too expensive. That’s why companies need to bring in foreign workers to replace these local workers.

To help Singapore workers compete, I suggest we live the way the foreigners live. Send our family members who do not earn money to low cost countries like batam or china. I think this is the only way Singapore workers can compete on cost with foreign ones.

Now that lifts are going to be upgraded to stop on every floor, it is time to see if we can integrate our elderly folks into the heartlands, instead of “chucking” them to old folks homes.

This will require a re-alignment of the social services and grassroots organisations as they will have to contend with a huge number of elderly.

But it can be done.

Yes, the govt should start with its housing policies. An example has already been in place for years – reserving flats in each block for minority-race Singaporeans.

It is thus possible to reserve flats in each block for the elderly.

in China old folks no need to work when they reach 45, but here old folks have to work til 70s, WTF

You people chose these monkey to churn out policies to stress ourselves. so who is the stupid person responsible ??? Us lah…gooodo!!!

The state should provide for them in an ingenious way. – panter92

The state will never provide. The kind of welfare we have in Singapore is productivity-based, ie. as long as you are employed, your employer is be responsible for your healthcare plan and CPF contributions. The new workfare scheme also follows this concept.

The problem is when you are no longer employed, you also loose your welfare benefits. The issue with such approach to welfare is that often citizens fail to take in account of emerging needs as soon as they loose any form of tangible employment.

This article presents an over-simplified and assumptuous view of aging.

Extrapolating for a single documentary, the author takes a position that
1. old folks home = bad, as drawn upon his observations during his past visits;
2. a comparison between India rural society and Singapore’s urban society, two totally different kinds of societies which I think we cannot simply lump them ogether under the umbrella of “Asian values”.

I find that the moral judgement, inherent in this article here, is uncalled for. How do we know whether our old folks being in old folks home are voluntary or not?

Is old folks necessary a depressing place as perceived by the author, who is clearly not an old folk him/herself?

What I am trying to say is that, how things are today are never due to one single reason. As in Singapore, aging is here to stay, and there are multiple dimensions to this.

Why do we have to take on such a negative light on old folks home, which is clearly an alternative, or one of the many ways for us to cope with aging? The stigmatization, serves only to add to frustration, guilt and doesnt solve anything.

I understand the situation as I had live with my parent since i am born till the day they left us .My dad passed away at age 88.The hospital staff ,i believe in good faith ,even suggested to me to sent him to those institution as they feel that he had been in and out of hospital too often on the last few years and those homes would be more suitable.
I am glad that I did not despite the fact that i am financially unsound.We should not forget our younger days when they stay with us whenever we are sick.We should do our best by staying with them and my experience is that ,you will never have any regret when they left us.
For those with maids to take care of them at home,pls do remember that dementias sometime do not know what they are doing .Do not take the maid or your family ’s word too seriously when they claim that they are being molested.

So, is Old Folks Home reliable? Should it be government or children to take care of there old folks?

Modernizations in structural,educational, commercial and sociall developents in the last few decades have, in my observations, physically, culturally and ideologically altered much of the traditions and values of the different races in Singapore.

Before the sixties, most inhabitants tended to live within their own communities which were mainly headed by more successful and respected elders from their own races, relatives and clans. They lived in clusters and was common to have a whole cluster comprised mainly of people from the same surnames, dialects(ethnicity) and from the same villages in their countries of origins. Camaraderie was common in everyday livings.

The head of the family unit in the eighties and before was usually the oldest patriarch. Respecting the elders and capable ‘chun lao qing xian’ was the traditions of most orientals and strongly upheld. The clan spirit was as good as in India, described in this thread by the writer and most villagers were caring of the old, the young as well as those weak and poor.

In the older days, most lived simply, water was mainly from well which cost nothing and a basic shelter, even a shared one, would satisfied most. As for food, those in villages had plenty of land to produce fruits, vegetables, poultry, pigs, wild edible plants and those near the sea were able to survive by fishing, collecting shell, seaweed etc.

At the village where I was born and neighbouring villages all the way from Changi village to the East Coast near the Chinese Swimming Club, villagers were able to depend on the land they stayed and the sea for a living, some even prospered from home industries. The making of titbits, kuehs, kachang puteh, fruits, vegetable and poultry farmings, builders, tin smith, hawkers selling mee, otah, dumpling and many other homemade snacks. Every village were almost self sufficient in everyday needs.

Co-operations amongst villagers those days mean higher productivity and return which were willingly shared among the people.

Three to four generations staying under the same roof or next to each others were common and the younger generations will always had to obey the elders.

Today, with highrise and high costs of living, generation gap where the working younger one are calling the shots over the old, mostly uneducated folks who have to depend on the younger ones to survive. Some unfortunate old folks are at the mercies of their own children as there are no neighbour or relative liked the old days. How the State takes care of the weak(physical) and poor who are neglected by their offsprings, will certainly affects the wellbeings of these folks.

Panther had mentioned he has a wholesome solution for the older members of our society to live meaningfully and happily and I look forward to his unveiling of it.
If it is as good as he mentioned, then it will be a blessing for all.

patriot

Reading this article makes me sick. Reading all the comments makes me even sicker.

yes, sending an elderly person to an old folks home is a bad idea but think about it. If they were to stay at home and being cared by a maid 24/7, all they get is being bored. A maid needs to clean, cook, wash and care for the rest of the house. Their time spent to look after the elderly person isnt much. There isnt quality care around. What if the elderly person has a stoke and unable to walk. are you going to ask your maids to put ur elderly parents in a wheelchair and if they would like to go to the toilet, are you going to ask your maids to carry or ‘lift’ or elderly parents to the toilet (note that the level to the toilet is raised). That is rediculous. this is like breach to occupational health and safety to the maid!

Im a little unsure if the old folks home in singapore uses a hoist to transter residents around but i do know i can trust the welfare system in an aged care home in Australia.

>> know i can trust the welfare system in an aged care home in Australia.

r u yellow or white, u think Aus will take care yellow like their own?

Puteri, perhaps it’s all about paying right? And how much? Bond of AUD250k and losing around 9% a year until the elder dies, not including the weekly charges for care services rendered. And this figure is only for aged care residents who need low care, what about high care? What I understand the bond is AUD400k. How many Singaporean can afford this, even if the state decides to emulate Australian system of aged care without first awarding the much ignored (by government) aged pension our elders so deserve for having struggled to bring Singapore where she is today. And yes, there are many Singaporeans who are residents in Australian aged care facility – a fact. Singapore can boast world class education system, world class corrupt-free government, world class technology, medical, business hub, but what a shame when she cannot boast even half of world-class aged care system! Look to Australia, Singapore has lots to learn on how to appreciate our elders!!

Billy, if you were to actually go on the internet and search the aged care homes in Australia, you will see why i trust them to look after our elderly residents.

I am a University student and working as a carer in an aged care residential home in Australia and yes we do look after residents regardless of colours.

Since you would like to know this, we look after the “whites”, “yellows”, “browns”, “reds” and “blacks”…that is practically EVERYONE. Bearing in mind, Australia is a true multi-racial country and Aged Care goes beyond colour, it is a service calling for compssion, respect and love for valuable members of the society without whom we would not be where we are today.

Let’s not be simplistic about aged care. First, how many of us have had the opportunity to look after an elderly? We know many elderlies have medical problems like chronic lung, heart, kidney diseases, stroke, high blood ressure, diabetes, parkinson’s and worst of all alzheimer’s disease and dementia. But do we know the physical, financial and logistical struggle and emotional frustrations family members go through looking after their aged relative? Do we acknowledge the stigma of an elderly having dementia, and do something to change that misconception,or do we just sweep it under the carpet? The world’s population is aging – by 2015 a quarter of the world’s population will be aged 65 and up, and a third will be diagnosed with dementia, this is 2009, are we already prepared for such phenomenon because we’re running out of time. Asian “values” always look to the notion of filial piety to care for our elders, but filial piety alone without education and government support will not help. Look at the parents maintenance bill, how isolated has it made affected elders and their children; how helpful has this bill been? How many people have actually used it against the many who choose to protect these elders’ dignity and suffer in silence? Education and awareness about aged care must start from school, and immediately. While Australians use their superannuation funds at retirement as bond for admission into aged care facility, Singaporeans generally finish their CPF savings on flats, while Australians pay their weekly aged care charges through the aged pension government provides for them in return for their contribution towards nation building while they were younger and paying high taxes, elder Singaporeans earn no income for having contributed to Singapore’s more than US$130 billion reserve while they were younger and stronger. So family, is Singapore’s best bet to care for the seniors. And who do families use to care for their elders – maids! Are they trained? Do they give good quality care these elders so deserve? What if these maids return to their country? What if family no longer can afford to provide care? Will these elders become welfare cases? I thought Singapore is not a welfare state!

Hey Guys, Listen up.. when the Health Minister told us Singaporeans to seek alternative aged care facilities elswhere. it is just as good as saying
” you guys are old and a burden to society, please get lost”
got it!!!!!