elderly home

Elderly Challenge - Observation 4

I observed some elderly people climbing up the overhead bridge across my house and it seems they have great difficulty doing that. I feel tired at times while trying to climb up the stair at times, so i can imagine how difficult it would be for them. Although the government has built some overhead bridges in Singapore with slopes instead of stairs, not much has been done to those in my area.

Elderly Challenge - Observation 3

The picture above shows why it is hard for elderlies who are visually impaired to see the type of food stored in the can as the words are quite small compared to the brand name or the picture(it is still not so bad as you still can see the picture clearly but some do not have the picture)

While visiting my grandmother, I also crossed the road to visit my great grandfather who is still alive and living with my aunt who stays near my grandmother. One of the many difficulties my great grandfather faces is due to his age, he has problems with his eyesight. This is inconvenient for him especially when he is in the kitchen(he still cooks) as he has a hard time looking at small prints but the cans, bottles etc. prints are very small. This is a problem when he is cooking as he will not be able to differentiate a can of mushrooms from a can of soup when cooking. It will take him some time before he can decide which is which or worse still, he may have to even ask my relatives for assistance. I feel that companies producing these stuff should make their product more elderly friendly as the elderly population is growing. The prints should be larger and the colours should be striking for easy recognition. This change will really help elderlies who have eye problems especially my great grandfather.

Elderly Challenge - Observation 2

I went to my grandmother's house today but she was camera shy so i do not have any pictures. I noticed that she has difficulties climbing up and down the stairs even though she lives on the second floor as she limps because one of her leg is injured during an accident. I know that the government is making an effort to upgrade some of the HDBs lift which have more floors so that the lift will stop a every floor. Sadly this is not the case at my grandmother's house as her HDB block does not have more than 5 floors. The reason why there is still no lifts at her house is that there are only a few stories and i think the government feels that there is not a need for a lift as it is not economical. Still, i do not think the government is willing to spend so much money just for the convenience of a couple of residents, but what will happen when my grandmother becomes bed ridden? I am sure i do not want to carry her up the stairs all the time. Maybe the government ought to think about it and hopefully spare a little bit of money to improve their lives by building a lift.

Elderly Challenge - Observation 1

While crossing the road at traffic light junctions, i noticed that some of the elderly have problems walking or they walk very slowly due to old age or some medical reasons. This is a problem as the green man may not be long enough for the elderly to cross over to the other side. Some of the road junctions are very long and the elderly may even be carrying some some heavy plastic bags. As a result, they will not walk across in time and it may result in accidents. Some cars who are in a rush will see the green light, speed across the road and may not be able to brake in time. I recommend that the LTA extend the time of the green man in busy areas or when the road is wider.

Holiday work - Part 1: Understanding the ‘The Elderly Challenge’

The four key recommendations are that the elderly get access to good healthcare easily, lead active and healthy lifestyles and have fulfilling relationships with their family and loved ones, the infrastructure in Singapore will be elderly-friendly and there would be a comprehensive range of housing options to meet the needs of the elderly.

They recommended HDB to provide more rental flats for the elderly by exploring the lease of its vacant flats to voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs), to cater to elderlies who may prefer to rent rather than buy, or who need to downgrade from their existing flats.

The government can set up the fund where we put in a certain percentage of our wage and this will be used to provide the elderly with subsidies and healthcare. In return, we will also get the same benefits when we grow old. We can also make it compulsory that when u reach the certain age, the amount of money that you pay when seeing a doctor or undergoing an operation is discounted as doctors are not allowed to charge so much when treating an elderly patient.

As an SST student, we can help them by teaching them how to make use of ICT to improve their lives or even earn some money for example through blogging and getting paid by advertising companies. It can also be good as they can use it to chat with their grandchildren, entertain themselves, etc. I can also help by going down to old folks home and spend some time with them and keep them company. Lastly, I can help out elderly when i see they are in need through some of the skills I have learnt.