Thanks to Gillian Tee, Singaporian seniors are now being offered improved solutions to aging issues. Having returned to her native Singapore after a decade-and-a-half abroad, she learned about what technology could do for the elderly and co-founded an on-demand home care company linking caregivers to seniors who require help.
Homage was set up and now a complete A to Z array of services are available. One can book online for friendship, help with shopping, or even medical care with prices ranging from S$20 to S$25 with the caregivers getting the majority of this money (S$17 to S$20 per hour).
The other good news for the elderly in Singapore is that there has been a substantial increase in the number of caregivers in the area. In May 2016, there were between 10 and 20. Now, there are over 300 with over 50% boasting a background in nursing.
Tee set up Homage after she understood that everywhere in the world, ageing is viewed as a “negative experience where you have nothing to look forward to. And if you have some kind of chronic illness, it’s hush-hush. You’re just put in a corner and not allowed to see the world.” she set about doing something to change that in Singapore, providing seniors with a respectful way to live.
In addition this is good for society and the economy, providing nurses with an opportunity to work part time or even less. It provides for greater interaction with the elderly and other demographics in society, rather than shoving them away not to be seen.
Singapore recently featured Homage in the country’s National Day Rally with Lee Hsien Loong – the PM – commending the start up for how it has used IT to “match demand with supply” a bit like existing car-hire applications.