On Feb 21, 2018, the Tripartite Workgroup released its recommendations on self-employed persons (our freelance Caregivers in our case). Among other things, the report recommends that insurance be made available and encourages contribute-as-you-earn model of Medisave contribution. We at CaregiverAsia welcomed this very timely and welcomed announcement.
I wrote a reply to an article in The Sunday Times recently. In my reply, which also appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times, I mentioned that there are some expectations of self-paying consumers. Nursing homes are well and good but we should look into affordability and the familiarity of the home which research has shown that people tend to recover faster and age well. There is also the desire for personalised services, to lead life with respect, to live independently with dignity and on their own terms.
At the launch of Caregiving @ South West by Ms Low Yen Ling, Mayor of South West District, on the 26th of January, I heard a moving story by a gentleman who has been caring for his ailing father suffering from skin cancer and dementia for more than 15 years. The mental and emotional stress faced by him was so enormous that he suffered from depression.
Happy New Year!
What a busy year it has been for us at CaregiverAsia in 2017! We did loads of stuff and we helped many people, both our Careseekers and our Caregivers. We have a video below that best exemplifies this. And this video, like all our videos, was developed inhouse.
Patients are the center of caregiving – and they should be. However, let us also not forget the caregivers who are giving care tirelessly. They risk physical and mental stress, burnout, injury etc. Everyone needs a time out, everyone needs a break.
We recently responded to an article in The Straits Times titled “Help at hand for younger caregivers” dated November 21, 2017. These are very important and will become even more crucial with the prevalence of nuclear families.
Last fortnight we saw our content relating to fathers as well on wellness being widely read by our readers on Facebook. While mothers bear the bulk of the challenges faced during pregnancy and child rearing, let us also not forget fathers who feel stressed mainly through their sense of helplessness on how to help their wives.
We recently wrote to The Straits Times with regard to an article in The Sunday Times titled “Hired as a nurse, treated as a maid” dated October 22, 2017. Although the letter was not published, we would like to share our response with you. We read the article with concern. The most important task at hand is to educate the public and related associations and organisations on the roles and responsibilities of nurses. Nurses are qualified professionals trained to take care our loved ones when they are at their most vulnerable.
