Written Answer by Ministry of National Development on plans for the community care apartments

Jan 4, 2021

Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what are the Ministry's plans to increase the number of community care apartments should the pilot be successful; and (b) whether the Ministry will incorporate some of the services offered by the community care apartments into the regular HDB housing estates.

Answer:

Jointly developed by the Ministry of National Development, Ministry of Health and Housing & Development Board, the Community Care Apartments integrate senior-friendly design features with care services that can be scaled according to individual care needs, with the aim of better supporting our seniors to age in place. The first pilot at Bukit Batok will be launched for sale in the February 2021 HDB Build-To-Order exercise. 

There are plans for the Community Care Apartments to be piloted at additional site(s) if the take-up rate and public response for the first pilot at Bukit Batok is good. As this is a new concept, we will conduct an evaluation of the initial pilot(s) before developing longer-term plans. 

The services offered within the Community Care Apartments generally mirror what is available in the community today. For example, seniors who are well can access a suite of active ageing programmes and volunteering opportunities for them to stay active and connected to the community. Seniors with poor social support can access befriending or buddying services, and those with higher care needs will be referred to appropriate home and centre-based care services. 

A service that is unique to the Community Care Apartments would be the Shared Caregiving Service which provides residents with round-the-clock assistance with activities of daily living, medication reminders and simple errands. The Government will monitor the take-up of this service and how it benefits residents within the Community Care Apartments, before assessing its suitability for the broader community.