SINGAPORE – Caregivers of more than 14,600 seniors, along with caregivers of over 3,600 children with developmental needs and persons with disabilities, benefited from subsidised respite care in 2025.
To ensure that the needs of these beneficiaries and their caregivers are met, the Ministry of Health (MOH) will continue to review respite care services, said Senior Minister of State for Health Koh Poh Koon in Parliament on Jan 14.
For instance, the Home Personal Care service – which is under MOH’s Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) – will be enhanced later in 2026 to offer longer service hours and after-hours care, including for respite care.
Respite care services are short-term support services provided to caregivers, helping them to cope with their loved one’s care needs for a fixed period of time, bringing about temporary relief of their stress and caregiving duties.
According to AIC’s website, the Home Personal Care service is for seniors who need help from trained care professionals with daily personal care tasks.
These seniors are unable to do the tasks themselves, do not have a caregiver, or have caregivers that need support or a break.
Dr Koh provided the update while responding to queries from Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim (East Coast GRC) about the demand and supply of caregiving respite services.
He said that respite care services tap the capacity of existing care services, and that providers are generally able to meet the demand.
In addition, respite care service providers work with AIC and SG Enable to prioritise those with urgent care needs, such as cases of caregivers seeking help to cope with burnout.
Dr Koh also said that a review is ongoing for the Take-A-Break home-based respite programme for persons with disabilities and children with developmental needs.
According to the website of SPD, a local charity which helps persons with disabilities and also runs the Take-A-Break programme, eligible caregivers under this programme can receive up to 200 hours of subsidised respite services within the one-year period ending on March 31.
The respite care providers will have trained personnel who can provide housekeeping support for simple tasks, or participate in social activities with the care recipients to maintain their physical or mental well-being.
The Take-A-Break programme is open to those with either the caregiver or care recipient being a Singaporean or permanent resident.
The conditions covered under the programme include autism, intellectual disability, physical disability, and sensory loss, such as deafness and vision loss.
