His father with dementia vanished near home. How can Singapore keep these seniors safe?
As the numbers of dementia cases rise in Singapore, more families will face the challenge of keeping loved ones safe without restricting their lives. Talking Point looks at Japan’s approach and how responsibility of care can be shared.
As Singapore's population ages, a growing number of seniors are living with dementia, a condition that can cause individuals to become disoriented and lost even in familiar surroundings. Ian Chan, a 31-year-old man, lost his 74-year-old father to dementia last December, marking the third time his father had wandered off. The father, who was living with Chan's mother-in-law, had only S$20 in his wallet and sometimes spoke to people who were not there.
Despite searching the neighborhood and his father's usual haunts, the family was heartbroken when the police found his body in a park near their home. Dementia can impair memory, thinking, and language functions, causing individuals to become lost even in familiar places. In Japan, where the population is also aging rapidly, the government has implemented measures to keep people with dementia safe.
Residents aged 65 and over can receive free dementia screening, and those with diagnosed dementia can apply for a GPS tracker accurate to within 50 meters. They also receive safety stickers with QR codes. These measures aim to help families, businesses, and residents work together to prevent and locate individuals with dementia who wander off.
Written by urgent.news from Channel News Asia's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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