New initiatives aim to create a fairer society, improve lives for all S’poreans

Support for youth, families and seniors listed in addenda to President’s address

- Joyce Teo Senior Health Correspondent

To build a society that supports Singaporeans at every stage in life, the Government said on Sept 17 that it would nurture youth, do more for families, support the vulnerable and care for seniors.

A slew of initiatives aimed at building a fairer and more inclusive society for Singaporeans will be rolled out, ensuring that everyone has access to the opportunities to lead better lives as the country rapidly ages.

To this end, the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social and Family Development and Ministry of Education outlined their initiatives on Sept 17 in their addenda to President Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s address at the opening of Parliament.

On Sept 5, Mr Tharman spoke about the importance of having comprehensive social support systems in place to ensure fairer outcomes, through helping Singaporeans sustain social mobility and navigate challenging and uncertain times.

Here are the highlights from the various addenda or public statements of the strategies:

MINISTRY OF HEALTH (MOH)

• To ensure healthcare remains of high quality, accessible and affordable, MOH is shifting the delivery of care away from acute hospitals to the community, especially for preventive care and population health, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.

• To meet the growing demands of an ageing population, MOH will add 2,800 hospital beds by 2030, with the new Eastern General Hospital and redeveloped Alexandra Hospital. Beyond that, more beds will come when the planned hospital in Tengah is up and both the Singapore General Hospital and National University Hospital campuses are redeveloped. Six new polyclinics and 10,000 nursing home beds will also be added by 2030.

• Not only will healthcare manpower be boosted by another 20 per cent by 2030, MOH will also enable nurses and allied health professionals to go on modular work-study training pathways to broaden and deepen the expertise of the healthcare workforce.