I AGREE that not enough is being done to help caregivers cope and continue to fulfil their roles ("Do more for caregivers of dementia patients" by Dr Quek Koh Choon; Monday).
Money can be an issue, especially when a dementia sufferer's funds are locked up in a joint account or if there is family conflict. Without the funds, the caregiver is unable to provide better quality care to his loved one. The situation is made worse when the dementia sufferer also has other chronic illnesses.
In such cases, the law should intervene to empower the caregiver in accessing the money.
The Government should also take more heed when caregivers voice their concerns about policies that adversely affect them and their loved ones.
When I was taking care of my late mother, who had dementia and diabetes and required haemodialysis three times a week, my appeals, regarding taxi fare hikes, surcharges and the rule requiring cabbies to pick up passengers at taxi stands, appeared in the media, but my cries for help went unheeded.
Hospitals should be more flexible in exceptional cases, in allowing caregivers to stay overnight to watch over their loved ones.
For example, in 2009, my mother was given oxygen therapy through a tube inher nose, in preparation for an operation the next day.
Knowing that she would pull the tube out, I begged the doctors and nurses to allow me to stay with her overnight at the high dependency ward. My request was rejected.
As expected, my mother pulled the tube out, and her brain - which had a blood clot after a fall my mother had - did not get enough oxygen.
The hospital was not able to carry out the operation, as well as a subsequent amputation. My mother later died from gangrene.
Many full-time caregivers are unmarried daughters in their late 40s and 50s. When their loved ones die, they are unable to secure meaningful and gainful employment because of age discrimination. Our employment laws must do more to help this group, so that they do not face the prospect of financial inadequacy in their old age.
Priscilla Poh Beng Hoon (Ms)
