HomeCare Assist aims to help needy ill or bedridden patients who need help to stay at home with their family after discharge from the hospital. Often due to the lack of homecare items such as diapers, milk feeds and nebulisers, these patients are poorly cared for at home.

"I have seen many needy patients whose condition deteriorate, are malnourished or return to the hospital frequently as they are not able to afford wound care items, diapers, milk feed, or nebuliser. These items can cost a patient more than $200 per week. For example, there was this 40 years old man who is paralysed from the waist.

He returned to the hospital when the wounds on his buttocks deteriorated badly. Later I found out that instead of dressing his wounds everyday at home he was doing it once every 3 days to save money. He had also been teasing out cotton from his old diapers to dress the wound, so that he does not need to buy any cotton wool."

-Ms Annette Chong, Medical Social Worker

HomeCare Assist, theCGH Patient Welfare Charity

For many bedridden or wheelchair-bound patients, leaving the hospital, though a happy event, can be the start of a difficult journey. It is difficult to achieve a good semblance of care at home. If their conditions require long-term care, it may often be fraught with difficulties ranging from caregiver stress to financial strain on the family.

The situation is even more dismal for low income families as the onerous expenses of homecare for a bedridden or wheelchair bound patient will deplete any savings that they may have, leaving many families in dire straits. Understanding their needs, staff of Changi General Hospital (CGH) has set-up HomeCare Assist to help needy ill or bedridden patients who need help to stay at home with their family after discharge from the hospital. Homecare items (eg. wheelchair, nebuliser, diapers, milk feeds, etc) can be expensive and can deplete the savings of many low-income families. To save money, these patients compromise their care by not following the prescribed regime, such as diluting their milk feeds or not changing their diapers frequently. As a result, many of them are often poorly cared for at home, resulting in re-admissions at the hospital or subsequent care at a nursing home.

HomeCare Assist is a unique programme, and the first of its kind in a hospital that provides help for the patient's homecare needs.

Click here to download HomeCare Assist Donor Report 2006. (367 KB)