\n<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE \u2013 An elderly woman suffers a sudden stroke and loses the ability to walk. Before she is discharged from the hospital, her children scramble to hire a domestic helper, as tensions rise over who is responsible for her long-term care.<\/p>\n
While hypothetical, this scenario may reflect the reality some families face when caregiving plans for their loved ones are not discussed in advance.<\/p>\n
Yet detailed conversations about future care arrangements remain uncommon. Several social service organisations told The Straits Times that discussions about death, illness and incapacity are still taboo in many Asian families.<\/p>\n
Such conversations include parents discussing with children what to do if they fall seriously ill, or making long-term care plans for a family member with disabilities when the primary caregiver dies.<\/p>\n
SPD\u2019s chief executive Abhimanyau Pal said: \u201cIn some cases, conversations are only triggered after a health scare, hospitalisation or injury that raises concerns about what would happen if the primary caregiver is suddenly unable to provide care.\u201d<\/p>\n
June Sim, who heads TOUCH Community Services\u2019 Caregivers Support Group, said cultural norms around filial piety may make it harder to discuss caregiving plans, because some parents think their children should naturally take on these duties.<\/p>\n
Some also think \u201cignorance is bliss\u201d and avoid having such discussions when family members are still healthy, said Teo Ying Ying, head of the social work department at the Home Nursing Foundation (HNF).<\/p>\n
A Singapore Management University Centre for Research on Successful Ageing (ROSA) study of 7,910 Singaporeans between 49 and 80 years old found that only around one in three respondents made a lasting power of attorney (LPA), even though nearly seven in 10 knew about it.<\/p>\n
This is despite the Government encouraging people to plan early for end-of-life scenarios by making LPA Form 1 applications permanently free for all Singapore citizens<\/span><\/a> from April.<\/p>\n An LPA allows individuals to appoint a trusted person, usually a family member, to take charge of their personal welfare, property and finances if they lose their mental capacity.<\/p>\n \u201cMany Singaporeans assume their loved ones can automatically step in during a crisis to make decisions about medical treatment and financial matters, but without an LPA, the legal process may not be straightforward,\u201d said Paulin Straughan, director of ROSA, in a media release on the study.<\/p>\n Without an LPA, family members may need to apply for deputyship, resulting in higher costs and delays in decision-making, noted the study, which was published in May.<\/p>\n Teo said it is important to prepare for crisis even in normal times. \u201cWe never know when a disabling illness might strike us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Conversations about caregiving can be sensitive and fraught with tension. Some parents want to avoid being perceived as having \u201cfavourites\u201d among their children when appointing their LPA donee \u2013 the person who can make decisions on their behalf, said Adrian Tan, co-founder of SG Assist, a social enterprise which supports caregivers.<\/p>\n HNF has seen siblings squabble over who and how to take care of aged parents. Its social workers assess the situation by talking to the different parties and may call for a family conference to guide them towards a resolution, said Teo.<\/p>\n SPD\u2019s Pal said families can start conversations about caregiving gradually, instead of treating it as a one-time discussion.<\/p>\n Some tips include choosing the right time and setting, such as during a relaxed family gathering or over a meal, and ensuring everyone is open to sharing freely, said Sim, from TOUCH\u2019s Caregivers Support Group.<\/p>\n Also ask questions in a gentle way, such as \u201cWhat would make you feel cared for in the future?\u201d, and sincerely listen to the person without interrupting.<\/p>\n Pal gave other suggestions for open-ended questions: \u201cWhat are your hopes and concerns for the future?\u201d and \u201cIf something unexpected happens, who would be able to help?\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cFraming the discussion around ensuring stability, continuity and quality of care for the person with disabilities, rather than focusing solely on ageing or death, may help make the conversations feel less daunting.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 An elderly woman suffers a sudden stroke and loses the ability to walk. Before she is discharged from the hospital, her children scramble…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=57242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/57243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=57242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=57242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=57242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n
\n
Read Full Article At Source <\/a>
\n