Consider nursing-home island resort

The National Trades Union Congress has said that it is prepared to invest in another five nursing homes in the next three to five years ("NTUC making more inroads into eldercare"; May 26).

However, building nursing homes would require more space in land-scarce Singapore. Perhaps we could make use of our surrounding islands instead.

We could develop one of the islands as a resort for the elderly, where they can fish, do gardening, or even swim in a man-made lagoon.

As this will be away from the mainland, there will not be any "not in my backyard" complaints from residents who do not like living near nursing homes.

To make it convenient for family members to visit their elderly loved ones on the island, frequent and affordable ferry and boat trips can be offered.

Some Singaporeans put their elderly family members in nursing homes in Johor Baru due to the lower cost there and a lack of vacancy in Singapore homes. Nursing homes on Singapore's neighbouring islands would be more convenient for visiting family members as they would not have to be stuck in traffic or go through the hassle of clearing immigration.

Sng Ah Beng

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