Forum: Caregivers are the unsung heroes of society

An elderly lady together with her caregiver in Toa Payoh on Oct 2, 2018. PHOTO: ST FILE

The Forum letters on Oct 24 by Dr Wayne Freeman Chong (Compensate and give recognition to caregivers) and Ms Kimberly Wong Ying Zhen (Domestic workers need support to shoulder caregiver burden) on the subject of caregivers are timely.

Currently, caregivers are not eligible for compensation under the Workfare Income Supplement Scheme.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat in his ministerial statement said that Workfare Special Payment eligibility will be widened to include more than 70,000 additional workers (470,000 Singaporeans to get $810m in Workfare special payout, Oct 24).

Hopefully, this will apply to caregivers to provide some relief from their financial burden.

It is a relief to note that among the proposed changes to MediShield Life is the higher claim limit for psychiatric treatment. This will be most helpful to caregivers who look after those with mental illness.

Still, more can be done to ease the financial burden and enhance the physical well-being of family members who sacrificed their careers to be full-time caregivers.

There should be a mindset change towards caregivers, who are the unsung heroes in society and should be given due recognition by the relevant authorities for their sacrifices. They deserve cash incentives and moral support as much as low-income workers do.

Kuldip Singh Saggi

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 28, 2020, with the headline Forum: Caregivers are the unsung heroes of society. Subscribe