Mr Lim Wee Kiak asked the Minister for Social and Family Development on (a) whether the Ministry tracks the number of seniors who die alone in their homes, with their passing only detected days later; and (b) if so, what is the number of such cases in the past year.
Answer
1 The Ministry of Social and Family Development does not track the number of seniors who die alone in their homes.
2 The Government works with community partners on multi-pronged interventions to support seniors living alone to stay connected and age safely in their communities.
3 First, the Silver Generation Office (SGO) under the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) conducts outreach to all seniors aged 60 and above to identify those with needs, and refer them to the relevant support or services for follow-up.
4 Second, seniors who need social support will be connected to an Active Ageing Centre (AAC) for befriending and buddying services, and receive regular check-ins. At the AACs, seniors can also participate in active ageing programmes to expand their social networks. Apart from the AACs, SGO also assists interested seniors to sign up for activities offered by the People’s Association (PA) at the Community Centres and Residents’ Network Centres. Volunteers from PA and the grassroots organisations also reach out to seniors who require assistance and befriending.
5 Third, the Ministry of National Development and the Housing and Development Board also support seniors living alone, through the provision of alert alarm systems which they can use to call for help during emergencies, in studio apartments and rental blocks.
6 Beyond these efforts, each of us plays an important role to look out for one another as neighbours and support our seniors to stay connected and age safely in the community. The Government will continue to work with our community partners and agencies to support our seniors