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BY THIS time next year, retiree Phua Mui Hway, 64, could be dropping in at a centre near her Hougang home for health screening or to join a brisk-walking club to stay fit.
A network of such one-stop centres could one day help other greying Singaporeans do the same if things take off at six pilot sites, including the Hougang one.
These centres will run a 'wellness programme' to meet the medical, social and emotional needs of older folk, Mr Lim Boon Heng, the minister overseeing ageing issues, told unionised health-care workers yesterday.
The wellness programme is the latest initiative of a government that is tackling the implications of an ageing nation head-on.
Already, in a nod to the longer life expectancy here, it is arranging for retireesto be re-employed and to make buying of annuities mandatory to ensure that people can support themselves as they live out their last years.
The wellness programme will enable those years to be lived out in good health and within reach of information and support services.
Said Mr Lim: 'Older workers have better prospects for employment if they are fit and healthy.'
The first three pilot centres in Jurong, MacPherson and Hougang will start operations by the middle of next year, said Mr Lim, who is a Minister in the Prime Minister's Office.
By the end of next year, each district will have a centre which is expected to serve at least 1,000 people. Only Central Singapore - with a high concentration of old folk in areas like Radin Mas - will have two.
If these pilot centres work, more will be opened.
Where possible, these centres will tap existing infrastructure such as grassroots clubs or eldercare services run by voluntary welfare groups.
Referrals and some services will be free, but fees - not yet fixed - will be levied for services like health screens.
Each centre will have two officers called 'seniors' navigators' to point visitors towards services they need.
Someone found to have high blood pressure, for example, will be asked for his consent for his report to be sent to a doctor. He will perhaps also be directed to a local brisk-walking club.
Mr Lim added, however, that he would not 'prescribe one national solution' on how the programme could be run. Each centre was free to decide on the details.
Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Teo Ser Luck, who is in charge of the Hougang centre, has decided it will focus on reaching out to 'isolated seniors' who do not know where to get help or even that they need help.
He said that while many family service centres and other groups ran seniors' services, these dedicated centres would be 'one-stop and based right in the heartland'.
The Hougang centre, located at Street 51, will run referrals and health screenings - services Madam Phua looks forward to.
The former waitress is so busy with her grandchildren that she has no time for health checks.
She said: 'I am sure that will change when the new Hougang centre comes up so near my home.'
radhab@sph.com.sg
7 IN 10 RETIREES REHIRED IN PUBLIC HEALTH-CARE SECTOR, SINGAPORE
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