Help for dementia patients in Yishun

This post came out from The Straits Times (21 January 2016)

To support people with dementia and caregivers, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) and Lien Foundation are spearheading efforts to foster Singapore's first dementia friendly community, in Yishun.

So far, about 2,000 people in the ton - from school students to frontline staff in hospitals and businesses to mosque and church members - have been trained on how to spot those with dementia and how to interact with and help or refer to aid agencies. Those who have been trained will patrol the town regularly, and organisations such as Sheng Siong supermarket chain and National Library Board are expected to be involved soon.

Dementia guides - which provide information about the condition - will be distributed to 58,000 households and businesses. Yishun was chosen to test out the concept of a dementia-friendly community because it has a significant number of elderly residents. It also has the community resources - such as a geriatric centre at KTPH to support them. About 10 per cent or 20,000 residents in Yishun are aged 65 and above.

With more training and awareness of dementia, it is hoped that Yishun and, later, other communities will be able to understand, embrace and support sufferers and caregivers in their midst. With the training, it is hoped that if a person with dementia gets lost, a policeman or student can show him the way home. Or, if the person takes items from a supermarket without paying, its staff will not assume he is shoplifting.

Such dementia-friendly communities will help the elderly avoid having to stay in institutions such as hospitals or nursing homes and live at home instead. Research has shown that having them at home would be less costly to society.

Organisations or individuals who wish to find out more about dementia or be trained in responding to those who have it can sign up at www.forgetusnot.sg


Thoughts:

1. A big community effort to manage a societal change. Both a mindset change (in approach) and a changing of mindset (for the community) which deserves to be further explored elsewhere! This also helps us to get in line with being a more gracious, understanding Singapore society.

Thoughts anyone?

Yours,

Something Small Thinking Big