From sensors that alert staff if frail residents leave their beds or toilets unassisted to mechanical wheelchair storage solutions, the first Government-run nursing home here is trying to “push the boundaries” in the eldercare sector.

The three-storey, 130-bed Pearl’s Hill Care Home – which used to be Pearl’s Hill School – was officially opened in Chinatown yesterday by Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong.

It is operated by Vanguard Healthcare, which was set up by the Ministry of Health (MOH) last year to run its own nursing homes.

Two years ago, MOH announced that it would operate several nursing homes to better understand the issues faced by operators, and come up with solutions and innovations in eldercare which can be adopted by others.

The MOH said it intended to directly operate about 1,000 beds by 2020 – 6 per cent of the total here.

Latest statistics show that the proportion of Singaporeans aged 65 and above grew from 13.1 per cent last year to 13.7 per cent this year.

Currently, there are more than 12,000 nursing home beds and the target is to have 17,000 in four years’ time.

The second nursing home to be run by Vanguard will open in Woodlands at the end of next year.

“Vanguard will develop new models of care that are cost-effective while striving to provide affordable quality care to patients,” said Mr Gan.

“We will share our experiences and innovations with other providers in the eldercare sector to push the boundaries, so as to benefit the sector as a whole.”

The home is working with Ngee Ann Polytechnic on new projects, such as having sensors in the toilet. These help to prevent falls by alerting caregivers when the patient attempts to stand up from the toilet seat unassisted.

It is also trying out a space-saving solution for wheelchair storage by mechanically lifting wheelchairs onto a two-tier rack.

Besides long-term stays, Pearl’s Hill Care Home also provides short-term rehabilitation services for patients leaving hospital before they return home.

Since it started operating in January, its 50-plus staff have cared for 159 residents. So far, 18 of them have gone home.

jantai@sph.com.sg

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The troubled Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT) line faced yet another setback yesterday as train services were suspended between interchange stations for almost five hours, causing inconvenience for thousands of commuters.

The culprit was a signal rail joint near the Choa Chu Kang station, which was damaged on Tuesday evening.

This caused the current collector devices – which serve to transfer power and signals from the tracks to the trains – on several train cars to dislodge as they moved over the damaged joint.

As a result, services were halted both on Tuesday night and yesterday between the Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang stations, both of which connect to MRT lines.

SMRT said engineering staff worked through the night to correct the problem.

But while services had resumed by 6.40am, a track fault near Choa Chu Kang station caused a power trip on the line at about 10.20am, said SMRT, resulting in train services being stopped again between Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang stations.

Services for the entire 7.8km LRT line, which serves more than 60,000 commuters daily, were suspended between noon and 1.20pm for inspections and assessments by engineers.

Subsequently, service for the eight stations between Bukit Panjang and Petir resumed at 1.20pm. Service B, which travels between the Petir and Choa Chu Kang stations, resumed at 5.45pm.

Shuttle services between stations and regular bus services were free for the duration of the disruptions. Travel on the LRT line was also free until the end of service at about 1am.

SMRT Trains managing director Lee Ling Wee apologised for the inconvenience to commuters. “BPLRT trains will be partially manned as a contingency until the end of service today,” he added.

The Bukit Panjang line has been beset with problems since it began operating in 1999, most recently in July, when a faulty antenna caused a train to fail to stop at three stations.

azhaki@sph.com.sg

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SINGAPORE – Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam yesterday (Sept 28) ruled out the possibility that he might be PM, saying Singapore has a distinctive political culture where each minister contributes to the team in a way that matches his strengths.

This culture has been built up over time and the next PM – who will be “first among equals” – will be decided from among the fourth generation of leaders, he added.

“There’s no urgency to see succession in this term of government. That’s why we’re focused on the fourth generation of leaders, building them up and enabling them to take over during the next term of government,” he said.

Mr Tharman was responding to questions from reporters on recent speculation, including a poll that Yahoo Singapore ran on Monday, that showed him as respondents’ top choice to be Singapore’s fourth PM.

“Just to be absolutely clear, because I know of this talk that’s going around, I’m not the man for PM. I say that categorically. It’s not me. I know myself, I know what I can do, and it’s not me,” he said.

“I’m good at policymaking, I’m good at advising my younger colleagues, and at supporting the PM – not at being the PM. That’s not me.”

Asked if his age was a concern to his being considered for next PM, the 59-year-old said: “I’m quite clear about this. I know who I am and I know what I’m capable of doing, and I know how I am best able to serve Singapore.”

Mr Tharman cited as examples Old Guard stalwarts Goh Keng Swee and S Rajaratnam, saying: “Their contributions to Singapore were immense, and till today they are in a league of their own, but even they would not have been ideal as a PM.”

He said Dr Goh was a remarkable person without whom Singapore would be much poorer and much less secure, but “did not have the temperament to be PM and did not want to be”.

As for Mr Rajaratnam, an “extremely good foreign minister”, “he wasn’t cut out to be PM, he knew it, and no one regards him the lesser because he wasn’t PM.”

“I mention them as illustration. I myself and no one in future is going to come close to Dr Goh and Rajaratnam’s contributions to Singapore, but even they would not have been ideal as PM,” he added.

“We each find a way to contribute to Singapore, that matches our strengths, and we each contribute to a strong team.”

As for Singapore’s political culture, he said: “No one is out to outdo someone else in Cabinet, or worse still to undermine someone else in Cabinet because he or she could be a competitor to them. Everyone is in this as a member of the team. It’s a culture that we’ve built up over time that we must absolutely keep.”

Mr Tharman added that he sees this in the fourth generation of leaders, some of whom entered politics in the 2011 elections, others in 2015.

“I’ve seen how they work together, I’ve seen them building up trust with each other,” he said.

He also made clear that Singapore does not face an “immediate problem” when it comes to succession, because PM Lee Hsien Loong is healthy despite a recent scare at last month’s National Day Rally. PM Lee is “still on top of the challenges that Singapore faces”, and is highly regarded by the international community, Mr Tharman said.

PM Lee has previously said he plans to step down some time after the next general election, which must be called by Jan 15, 2021.

Mr Tharman said there are a few fourth-generation leaders who could be “first amongst equals during the next term of government”.

Asked whether the list of potential PMs has narrowed for him, he said: “We all have our sense as to who has the potential to be the first among equals and it doesn’t lessen the contributions of the others.”

“Who thinks lowly of Raja and Goh Keng Swee? They were towering figures, but not everyone is suited to be the PM,” he added.

“The whole idea is build a strong team to take Singapore forward, and I’m confident of that in the fourth generation. I’ve watched them; I know them well,” he said.

“Some I’ve known for a long time like (Finance Minister Heng) Swee Keat; some others over the last six years. I’ve confidence in them and some of us in the third generation would be around to support them.”

This article was first published on September 28, 2016.
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