April 12, 2007
By Yap Su-Yin
NEW
HOPE: With counselling and emotional support from the Society for the
Physically Disabled's case management programme, Mr Jimmy Tan, seen here
with his mother, Madam Ang, has become less demanding and is
considering taking up vocational training. -- DESMOND WEE
HOUSEWIFE Ang Ah Poh, 62, was at a loss when her son Jimmy suffered a stroke at the age of 32 that impaired his movement.
HOUSEWIFE Ang Ah Poh, 62, was at a loss when her son Jimmy suffered a stroke at the age of 32 that impaired his movement.
Depressed and unable to cope, he refused to speak. His temper soured and his mother, his main caregiver, bore the brunt of it.
Those were tough times, recalled Madam Ang in Hokkien.
'I waited on him hand and foot after his stroke, but I'm old and it was difficult to manage,' she said.
Luckily,
five months ago, the Society for the Physically Disabled (SPD) put Mr
Jimmy Tan on its new specialised case management programme, which turned
things around for both mother and son.
Madam
Ang said: 'With counselling and emotional support, he has become less
demanding and more independent and is even considering taking up
vocational training in future.'
The
society hopes to repeat this early success with those who need help to
cope with the stress and challenge of living with disability.
Previously,
there was no service providing continuous counselling, case management
and early access to resources and services after discharge from
hospitals, said SPD's head social worker, Ms Lim Lutin.
At
present, hospital staff can link a disabled patient to services offered
by different voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs), depending on his
needs.
But it is done on an ad hoc
basis and, since there is no follow-up, there is no way of knowing
whether the patient is using these services.
'Some
have told us they would not have felt so lost if someone had followed
through that journey with them,' said Ms Lim. Her team has come across
cases where disabled people have shut themselves away from society for
years because they do not know how to get help.
'We
need to be there to motivate the client to think about what to do with
his life after his disability, because life has not ended yet,' said Ms
Lim.
Catching them when they are 'in
transit' between hospital and home is critical because this is a
difficult period of adjustment, when both the patient and caregiver need
plenty of support, she said.
So the SPD will put in place a system whereby hospitals or VWOs can refer such cases directly to SPD for 'holistic' help.
If necessary, SPD will link the clients - mostly adults - to other services it offers, such as therapy or vocational training.
More networking is needed though.
Currently,
just Tan Tock Seng Hospital Rehabilitation Centre in Ang Mo Kio has
tied up with SPD. It connects patients to SPD's 'specialised case
management programme' about a week before patients who suffer physical
disabilities are due for discharge.
Since
last October, when the pilot programme was rolled out, the team has
seen about a quarter of its annual target of 400 patients.
The pilot programme was given $300,000 in funding, to last two years, from the National Council of Social Service.
Said
Madam Ang: 'For poor folk like me, unable to read English, having a
social worker show me how I can help my child help himself makes me
happy.'
=========================================================
Make sure you have Critical Illness coverage
You should have at least a minimum coverage to protect against any critical illness. You can't determine the damage the illness will do to you. But you can ensure if any thing happens, you and your family are will have funds to get medical treatment and protect your income.
Don't be a burden to your family, click here to find out how you can get your free financial health check!
No comments:
Post a Comment