By 2030, almost one in three people in Singapore will need some form of eldercare service. However, Singapore’s limited assisted living options mean seniors have few choices beyond living unassisted at home, engaging a foreign domestic helper or moving into a nursing home.
Nursing home residents in Singapore tend to stay for extended periods of five to 15 years. In contrast, the typical nursing home stay in the US is about two years, in part due to its more diverse aged care options like retirement villages and assisted living.
The high demand for nursing homes has led to bed occupancy rates exceeding 90%. More nursing homes should be built, but these are expensive to construct and operate.
HDB’s Community Care Apartments (CCA) could be a cost effective alternative for seniors who need assisted living but are not in need of round-the-clock care.
What has been the take up rate for CCAs so far? What is the projected demand and how many CCAs does HDB plan to build in the next 10 years?
The Government could boost the availability of CCA by purchasing and renovating existing HDB flats. This was suggested during a roundtable organised by the Leadership Institute for Global Health Transformation and reported in the Straits Times. By converting these flats into CCAs, seniors will be able to more conveniently access the care services they need. It will help scale up the provision of CCAs to more seniors and enable more of them to age in place, in familiar surroundings.
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Committee of Supply Debate, Ministry of National Development, 2 March 2023
Photo by Singapore Stock Photos on Unsplash
