Elderly residents in Queenstown now have a centre that caters to their health and social needs with the opening of the ECON Health and Wellness Centre (Queenstown).

The centre, which has been in use since May last year, was officially opened on Saturday by Senior Minister of State for Law and Education, Ms Indranee Rajah. It offers services such as physiotherapy and traditional Chinese medicine consultations, and other facilities like a fitness corner with gym equipment and an Internet browsing area.

Located at a multi-purpose hall near Block 61 Strathmore Avenue, it is the second commercially run centre that serves the elderly residents - 160 of whom are living in 152 studio apartments on Strathmore Avenue. The centre also has some 300 members from other estates in Queenstown.

One of the free services provided by the centre is an alarm system that can be installed in each of the studio apartments. They can be used to alert the centre's staff to respond to calls for help in emergencies.

Ms Indranee, who is MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC and guest of honour at the event on Saturday, said that with its range of services, the 270sqm-centre is the first of its kind in the area. "In our community, we want to make sure that we support senior citizens and our elderly," she said, adding that regular physical exercise, social interaction and strong family support are the things that keep seniors going.

ECON Healthcare Group has been appointed by the Ministry of Social and Family Development to manage a total of 12 such senior services centres, which will all be up and running by this year.

The first centre at Bishan's Golden Jasmine studio apartments opened in 2011. The next centre to open will be at Woodlands.

These centres are part of the Government's efforts to cope with the demands of an ageing population.