CAL in the Media

新加坡国立大学医学组织 (NUHS) 于 5 月 27 日在裕廊医疗中心举办保健嘉年华，正式开启 “一起健康” 计划 (Health Together)。“一起健康” 计划为西部居民而设，他们将能通过一站式网站与应用程序方便获取资源和服务。

嘉年华召集各个医疗与社会服务机构，包括照顾者联盟 (CAL)。活动反应热烈，吸引超过 500 名公众积极参与。

On 27 May, the National University Health System (NUHS) organised a wellness carnival to launch “Health Together”, a new community health initiative for residents living in the west. Through the “Health Together” one-stop website and mobile application, residents will have a comprehensive pool of resources and support to meet their needs.

Several medical and community service organisations, including Caregivers Alliance Limited (CAL), participated in the event. Held at Jurong Medical Centre, the carnival received an overwhelming response, with over 500 residents in attendance. 

In a candid interview, “Ivy” (pseudonym) shared her family’s journey with her daughter’s diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. Through attending CAL’s 12-week C2C-ED programme, she also learnt about the importance of having empathy and developing self-care as a caregiver.

The Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) launched a campaign for caregivers on 20 May 2023. Titled “We See You Care”, the campaign aims to acknowledge the significant role of caregivers for their loved ones and the community at large. According to a survey conducted by AIC in 2021, only 49 per cent out of 900 respondents identified themselves as caregivers. This suggests that many caregivers may perceive caregiving as a duty and not actively prioritise self-care or seek respite.

Warren Sheldon Humphries, a C2C-PMHI graduate and volunteer with CAL, shared his personal experience with The Straits Times. He expressed some of the concerns caregivers face, including the constant emotional and mental toll they have to carry, and going through burnout.

Former NMP Anthea Ong, a strong advocate in the mental health space, emphasised the need for affordable and easy access to quality care and treatment. This points to the need for a whole-of-society effort involving awareness education, links to support resources and funding. She suggested that tapping on government-funded community health agencies such as Samaritans of Singapore, Caregivers Alliance Limited (CAL) and Shan You Counselling will help ease the mental health support load as well.

On 30 January, the Ministry of Health rolled out the 2023 Action Plan for Successful Ageing. Sociology and gerontology experts agreed on the benefits of the refreshed Plan, especially for the younger generation who are or will become caregivers for their ageing parents. 

Some goals of the Plan include offering more financial assistance for caregivers, boosting the capabilities and capacity of caregivers, as well as stepping up early detection and prevention of dementia. Tricia Lee, Head of Communications at CAL, noted that the changes and enhanced support for caregivers would be beneficial. CAL also encourages secondary caregivers, including family members, to share the caregiving burden with the primary caregiver to prevent burnout.