WP launches initiative to gather views of caregivers on challenges, areas for more support
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Sengkang GRC MP He Ting Ru at the launch event of the Workers' Party's Caregivers’ Wishes scheme on Oct 10.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Follow topic:
- The Workers' Party launched "Caregivers' Wishes" to gather caregiver feedback on challenges and support gaps.
- WP aims to analyse at least 600 responses, publish reports, and propose policies to strengthen Singapore's caregiving infrastructure.
- Led by Dr Ong Lue Ping, the initiative's data will inform Parliament questions, motions, and future proposals.
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SINGAPORE – The Workers’ Party is seeking the views of caregivers on their challenges as part of a new initiative that could lead to potential policy proposals.
From now till the end of October, the opposition party aims to get the views of at least 600 caregivers that it will analyse and publish in curated reports.
The Caregivers’ Wishes scheme, launched on World Mental Health Day on Oct 10, aims to provide deeper insights into caregiving and identify gaps in Singapore’s support systems, said the party in a statement.
Through this exercise, the party hopes to raise public awareness of the issue, and eventually contribute with policy recommendations to strengthen the nation’s caregiving infrastructure.
The initiative is led by Dr Ong Lue Ping, a practising clinical psychologist at the Institute of Mental Health who was a WP candidate in Tampines GRC
Speaking to the media at the launch event at the WP’s headquarters on Oct 10, Dr Ong said that the caregivers will be asked about their top three challenges in the role, as well as their top three wishes for caregiving support here. They can submit their responses through an online survey. The party will also conduct its own outreach.
The WP said its new initiative will be organised into four groups that caregivers look after: the elderly and those with dementia; individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders or intellectual disability; individuals with physical disability and other medical conditions; and individuals with mental health conditions.
The first phase of the initiative will involve gathering primary data from caregivers and the wider public on their experiences, sentiments and challenges.
The project team will then analyse the findings and publish them in curated reports in subsequent phases. Dr Ong said this could be done by 2026.
Noting that there has been a lot of research done locally on caregiver stress and burden, Dr Ong said the project aims to get voices from the ground.
“Some of this research has been done a couple of years ago, so we also want to hear the current voices, and then we’ll supplement that with the existing research in terms of our recommendations later on,” he said.
During the event that was open to the public, the party screened local independent documentary Lady! – which is about the struggles of a woman who is the primary caregiver to her husband, who has early onset dementia.
Dr Ong Lue Ping (left), along with Sengkang GRC MP He Ting Ru, speaking before the screening of local independent documentary Lady! at the Workers’ Party’s headquarters on Oct 10.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Sengkang GRC MP He Ting Ru told the media that caregiver support is an area the WP hopes to address this term, and that after the information is collected, the party’s MPs could pose related questions or file adjournment motions in Parliament on the matter.
This is the first public initiative the party has launched since the May election
The WP said in its statement that it has consistently raised caregiver issues in Parliament, informed by ground feedback.
It cited speeches by Ms He in 2020 and 2023 calling for better measurement and recognition of unpaid labour, Aljunied GRC MP Gerald Giam’s proposal during the Budget 2024 debate on licensed childminding services, and new Non-Constituency MP Eileen Chong’s recent maiden speech in which she called for more caregiver support.
“The Workers’ Party aspires to do more, in its capacity as a responsible opposition party in Parliament, to propose feasible, well-considered policy proposals that empower caregivers,” the party said.
Among the caregiver-related proposals in the party’s 2025 manifesto is a tiered payout given to those who reduce their work hours or leave work to care for a family member.
In a speech at the event on Oct 10, Ms He acknowledged the important role that informal, unpaid carers play in society.
She added: “I would like to see their caregiver contributions being regularly and officially measured so that we can actually ascribe values to the sort of work that caregivers give and do.
“Beyond financial support, I think it’s also very important to really deeply understand and learn what the needs of caregivers are, and how we can better leverage the strengths each informal caregiver brings to us, our families, our society, our country.”
