Johor idea draws flak
By Salma Khalik , HEALTH CORRESPONDENT [The Straits Times, Feb 10, 2009]
A SUGGESTION by Health Minister that Singaporeans might want to consider staying at a nursing home across the Causeway in Johor where it is much cheaper drew flak from two oppostion MPs in Parliament on Tuesday.
Workers' Party chairman and Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim said the suggestion was 'quite a bad indication of affordability of our own health care services here, and also a reflection of our national values'.
Fellow WP member Low Thia Kiang (Hougang) asked: 'Is the Minister suggesting that Singaporeans who cannot afford medical treatment or step-down care here should now consider such facilities in Johor?'
If so, is the minister 'outsourcing the Government's responsibility to provide affordable health care service to Malaysia', he asked.
This riled Mr Khaw Boon Wan.
'I'm not saying that if you are poor I will put you in an ambulance, send you across the Causeway to a Johor nursing home. That is not what I said and please don't twist my words,' he retorted.
In fact, the Johor option is not for the poor, who are heavily subsidised in Singapore.
'Everybody can afford health care in Singapore whether acute care or long-term care,' said Mr Khaw.
The suggestion was aimed at middle-income families who need to pay for the care themselves. It gives them choice.
'I just wanted to point out to Singaporeans that there are options like this,' Mr Khaw said.
The cost of nursing home care will always be more expensive in Singapore, as doctors and nurses are paid more, and construction cost is also higher.
Since many people visit the elderly in homes only on weekends, it makes little difference whether the person is housed here or in nearby Johor.
It's part of globalisation and this is already happening with Singaporeans going to Bangkok for Lasik to treat short sightedness and Americans and Russians coming here for treatment.
It is also not something that should, or can, be prevented, said the minister.
Singaporeans are already crossing the causeway for cheaper petrol and medicine.
'By allowing the flexibility of consumers walking across the Causeway... they benefit. I don't think we should constrain them from doing so.'
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
JB nursing homes for old folks?
JB nursing homes for old folks? [Today Online Tuesday Feb 10, 2009]
Since a “significant” number of Singaporeans visit their relatives who are in nursing homes only at the weekend, why not place these elderly folk in homes in Johor Bahru – where one month’s fees in a Singapore private nursing home could buy two-and-a-half months of care?
Making this suggestion, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said he recently visited a site in JB where a Singapore investor was planning such a facility. “I probed him on how much he is going to spend ... It’s mind-boggling. It’s so low. My cost of putting up a polyclinic is probably more than his cost of putting up a 200-bed nursing home.”
He added: “You can always ambulance in the elderly and the family members can visit the elderly on weekends. As this nursing home CEO told me, even in Singapore when they put the elderly in homes, they also only visit them once a week ... So what’s the difference in putting them in JB?”
Mr Khaw was responding to a question from MP Lam Pin Min on whether caregivers should be given an allowance. The minister said he preferred to use Eldershield, though the payout of $400 was too small and “should be pushed up to $800”.
In 2006, Mr Khaw sparked a minor controversy when he mooted the idea of retirement villages by private developers in neighbouring countries where land was cheaper. After his proposal was misunderstood by those who saw it as “dumping” one’s parents, he clarified that he felt such an intent was the worst sin possible. Alicia Wong
Since a “significant” number of Singaporeans visit their relatives who are in nursing homes only at the weekend, why not place these elderly folk in homes in Johor Bahru – where one month’s fees in a Singapore private nursing home could buy two-and-a-half months of care?
Making this suggestion, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said he recently visited a site in JB where a Singapore investor was planning such a facility. “I probed him on how much he is going to spend ... It’s mind-boggling. It’s so low. My cost of putting up a polyclinic is probably more than his cost of putting up a 200-bed nursing home.”
He added: “You can always ambulance in the elderly and the family members can visit the elderly on weekends. As this nursing home CEO told me, even in Singapore when they put the elderly in homes, they also only visit them once a week ... So what’s the difference in putting them in JB?”
Mr Khaw was responding to a question from MP Lam Pin Min on whether caregivers should be given an allowance. The minister said he preferred to use Eldershield, though the payout of $400 was too small and “should be pushed up to $800”.
In 2006, Mr Khaw sparked a minor controversy when he mooted the idea of retirement villages by private developers in neighbouring countries where land was cheaper. After his proposal was misunderstood by those who saw it as “dumping” one’s parents, he clarified that he felt such an intent was the worst sin possible. Alicia Wong
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