THE report on Feb 11 ("Occupational therapists in demand in greyer S'pore") is much appreciated. It created more awareness about the profession, and accurately portrayed occupational therapy as a rewarding career and the value it brings to the health care of Singaporeans, especially in view of the ageing population.
We noted that the occupational therapists featured in the report are from restructured hospitals and would like to highlight that Singapore still faces a shortage of occupational therapists.
From the Allied Health Professions Council report on mass registration for 2013/2014, Singapore has 831 registered occupational therapists as at April 17 last year.
With a population of 5.47 million as at the middle of last year, there is a ratio of one occupational therapist to every 6,582 people.
Comparatively, Hong Kong has 1,580 occupational therapists and a ratio of one occupational therapist to every 4,569 people.
The shortage of occupational therapists in Singapore is more apparent in the community sector, such as nursing homes, home-based community services for the elderly and community
services for adults as well as children with disabilities.
According to the Allied Health Professions Council, there were only 269 occupational therapists working in the community sector (community hospitals and voluntary welfare organisations) last year.
According to SG Enable, a government-established agency which provides services for the disabled, there are approximately 100,000 people with disabilities in Singapore and 12 per cent (approximately 400,000) are directly affected by disability.
This includes caregivers of persons with disabilities, whom occupational therapists often work closely with to enable them to care for their loved ones.
Occupational therapists play a vital role in helping people with disabilities integrate into the community and resume the activities that they used to do.
We hope to reach out to young people seeking a fulfilling career in the health-care sector to come forward and consider occupational therapy as a viable lifelong career.
Florence Cheong (Ms)
President
Lim Chun Yi (Ms)
Vice-President
Singapore Association of Occupational Therapists
We noted that the occupational therapists featured in the report are from restructured hospitals and would like to highlight that Singapore still faces a shortage of occupational therapists.
From the Allied Health Professions Council report on mass registration for 2013/2014, Singapore has 831 registered occupational therapists as at April 17 last year.
With a population of 5.47 million as at the middle of last year, there is a ratio of one occupational therapist to every 6,582 people.
Comparatively, Hong Kong has 1,580 occupational therapists and a ratio of one occupational therapist to every 4,569 people.
The shortage of occupational therapists in Singapore is more apparent in the community sector, such as nursing homes, home-based community services for the elderly and community
services for adults as well as children with disabilities.
According to the Allied Health Professions Council, there were only 269 occupational therapists working in the community sector (community hospitals and voluntary welfare organisations) last year.
According to SG Enable, a government-established agency which provides services for the disabled, there are approximately 100,000 people with disabilities in Singapore and 12 per cent (approximately 400,000) are directly affected by disability.
This includes caregivers of persons with disabilities, whom occupational therapists often work closely with to enable them to care for their loved ones.
Occupational therapists play a vital role in helping people with disabilities integrate into the community and resume the activities that they used to do.
We hope to reach out to young people seeking a fulfilling career in the health-care sector to come forward and consider occupational therapy as a viable lifelong career.
Florence Cheong (Ms)
President
Lim Chun Yi (Ms)
Vice-President
Singapore Association of Occupational Therapists
