of khaw boon wan suggested singaporeans to consider living in nursing homes in johor bahru

Live in nursing homes in JB?: SINGAPOREANS could consider living in nursing homes in neighbouring Johor Baru, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan suggested yesterday.

It would be cheaper, yet be near enough to Singapore for family members to visit and for residents to return for medical care if necessary, he said.

He told Parliament yesterday that he recently visited a site in Johor Baru where a Singaporean investor was planning to build a 200-bed nursing home.

He asked the investor about the costs involved, and was stunned at how low they were.

He said: 'It is mind-boggling. The cost of land and construction cost is so low that my cost of putting up just a polyclinic (in Singapore) is probably more than his cost of putting up a 200-bed nursing home (in Johor Baru).

'The monthly cost of keeping a resident in a private nursing home in Singapore, you can stretch it easily to pay at least 2-1/2 months of nursing home care in Johor Baru.'

If any medical problems cropped up, the elderly could be taken back to Singapore by ambulance, he said.

For most Singaporeans, visiting a relative in a Johor Baru nursing home would not pose significant difficulties, he said.

The investor, who is a nursing home chief executive, told him that many people visited their relatives weekly, even in nursing homes in Singapore.

Mr Khaw added: 'Of course many visit daily, but quite a significant number visit only during the weekends, so what is the difference in putting them in Johor Baru?'