Hansard, 2011-03-04

Order. Pursuant to Standing Order No. 2(5)(d), I propose to extend the time of this day's Committee sitting for a period of up to 30 minutes. It would allow the Minister to finish his reply and wrap up the clarifications.

Debate in Committee of Supply resumed.

Head O (cont.) –

Madam, Mr Low is correct that home care and home hospice are important. Those are all part and parcel of long-term care. We use the term "long-term care" because it is easy to use, easy to say and we define it loosely. I use it to mean any healthcare outside the hospitals. So it includes a wide range – community hospital, nursing home, hospices, home healthcare – and, increasingly, home care will be a significant segment of that. We must develop and expand all those. I see this whole journey as trying to improve quantity, that means scale it up; quality, that means, for example, the nursing home's rehabilitative activities must be able to be scaled up, ie, upskilled, and also have diversity. Because, in terms of different kinds of services, the needs may vary, different families have different needs and different patients may have different needs. So all those efforts will be what we are embarking upon over the next few years. We definitely would have

But back to the Member's point about home hospice and home care, the VWO home hospices are all funded by the Ministry of Health. While they raise donations and get supported by the public, they also receive subventions from the Ministry of Health. But as we scale up, of course, more subventions will have to flow down by the sheer increase in clientele and services that they are providing. But I took comfort that when I last looked at cancer patients – because cancer is more predictable, in the sense that we know there is a prognosis, and if the patient is at an advanced stage, the doctor cannot be precise about how many weeks or months but, at least, if it is end stage, they can plan for their end of life – the majority are able to die at home supported by us, whether it is HNF, hospice movement, home care or whatever. And we will see many more such cases, going forward.

*Cols. 3837-3838. to pump in more money and resources into all these.

Dr Lam, having listened to the responses, would you like to withdraw your amendment?

Madam, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Minister and the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the comprehensive and engaging debate in this House. As always, it is so refreshing and reassuring to hear the Minister share his Ministry's strategy and also his own personal philosophy to live well, live long and with peace of mind.

On that note, I seek leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $3,580,115,300 for Head O ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $496,845,000 for Head O ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.

Madam, may I seek your consent to move that progress be reported now and leave be asked to sit again on Monday, 7th March 2011?

I give my consent.

Resolved,

That progress be reported now and leave be asked to sit again on Monday, 7th March 2011. – [Mr Khaw Boon Wan].

Thereupon Mdm Deputy Speaker left the Chair of the Committee and took the Chair of the House.

Mdm Deputy Speaker, I beg to report that Committee of Supply has made further progress on the Estimates of Expenditure for the financial year 2011/2012, and ask leave to sit again on Monday, 7th March 2011.

So be it.

Resolved,

"That Parliament do now adjourn." – [Mr Lim Swee Say].

Adjourned accordingly at

Two Minutes to Seven o'clock pm.

Section Name: BUDGET Title: HEAD L - MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER RESOURCES Filename : Chart on Local Dengue Cases Under Control MP Name: The Minister of State, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan)