Seniors urged to get handrails and other subsidised fittings under scheme to make HDB homes safer
Published on
06 Apr 2024
Published by
The Straits Times
SINGAPORE – Seniors living in HDB flats and their caregivers are urged to install handrails, wall-mounted shower seats and other accessibility equipment offered at heavily subsidised rates under a refreshed national scheme.
Wheelchair users can also apply to widen doorways and install ramps to make manoeuvring around the home safer, as part of the Enhancement for Active Seniors (Ease) 2.0 programme, which was launched on April 1.
National Development Minister Desmond Lee on April 6 encouraged seniors to tap the subsidies, in a speech at a fund-raising concert held at the Chui Huay Lim Club in Newton. The event was organised by Kampung Senang, a charity that promotes healthy and eco-friendly lifestyles.
The authorities have expanded the list of accessibility equipment eligible for subsidies from three items to 11, which Mr Lee said are subsidised to prepare for an ageing population. Roughly a fifth of residents in Singapore are 65 years old and above today, and this is expected to rise to a quarter of the population by 2030, he said. “We are trying to prepare for this ahead of time,” said Mr Lee in Mandarin.
Under the scheme, which offers subsidies of up to 95 per cent, eligible applicants can have the entrance kerb to a toilet lowered to make it easier to step in and out of the toilet, at rates ranging from $47.95 to $119.90, depending on the type of Housing Board flat.
Applicants can also install wall-mounted foldable shower seats, which start at $15.25 under the subsidised rates, and railings at the main entrance outside their homes, from $31.60.
Mr Lee said: “(The seats) will be helpful for homes with narrow toilets since they can fold.”
Home fire alarm devices and rocker light switches are also new subsidised items. Grab bars and slip-resistant treatment for toilet floors continue to be covered under the scheme.
The Ease programme was introduced in 2012 to subsidise home fittings like ramps, anti-slip floor tiles in toilets, and grab bars in flats to assist seniors.
The scheme was refreshed on April 1 to include more items to help Singapore prepare for a “super-aged society”, as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said during the National Day Rally in 2023.
The features were decided upon in consultation with the Ministry of Health, the Agency for Integrated Care and healthcare professionals such as occupational therapists.
Kampung Senang’s 25th anniversary
Mr Desmond Lee thanked Kampung Senang, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2024, for its work since 1999, adding that community groups like it will play an increasingly important role in supporting the ageing population here.
Some 600 volunteers, donors and seniors attended the sold-out charity concert, which was headlined by voice actor and musician Li Rong De. The concert, bazaar and other activities at the Chui Huay Lim Club raised $53,470, said the organisers.
Kampung Senang aims to raise another $50,000 at a series of charity fairs on April 13 at its centres in Aljunied, Tampines and Jurong, said its spokesman.
The money will support the charity’s activities across its centres, which organise educational programmes, healthy lifestyle activities and other community events, said Madam Joyce Lye, 74, the founder of Kampung Senang.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Reproduced with permission.
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