Vanguard Healthcare's new Hougang facility fills care gap as IMH's long-stay patients age: Ong Ye Kung
Singapore has opened a new Vanguard Healthcare facility in Hougang to provide specialized nursing and rehabilitation for an aging population of long-term mental health patients. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung emphasized the need for a continuum of care as patients transition from acute psychiatric needs to long-term nursing support.
Why it matters
As mental health patient populations age globally, healthcare systems must shift from acute hospital-based models to integrated, long-term residential care.
As Singapore's long-stay mental health patients grow older and require more nursing care, a new Hougang facility by Vanguard Healthcare aims to fill a gap in the country's mental healthcare landscape.
Speaking at the official opening of the co-located facility at 5 Lorong Napiri on Monday (Oct 5), Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Ong Ye Kung said patients with mental health conditions on long-term care have become older, with the median age of long-term stayers now reaching 58 years old.
He added that 83 long-stay patients are aged 70 and above.
"For many of these patients, their conditions have stabilised, and they get agitated much less frequently, as they become more frail and cognitively weaker," said Ong, who is also Minister for Health.
These patients require more supervision, nursing care and assistance with daily living, rather than acute psychiatric care, the health minister added.
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