kellytan

FRANKLY, the idea of a committee caring for me, should I become senile, is unnerving.


28 Mar, The New Paper
Some faceless stranger will decide whether I get to stay at home or be sent away to a nursing home; whether I can continue wearing my diamonds or whether they have to be taken away for safekeeping.

Even whether I eat toast or steak for breakfast.

Actually, thinking about getting dementia is itself unnerving. Why do I have to even think about such a morbid topic?

Death and money are not issues that are easy to talk about in public. Love and loyalty are best left personal.

Yet all these difficult topics converge in a new law that the Government is considering.

Among other things, it allows you to plan in advance the person who will care for you - sign your cheques, remember your ATM PIN, whether you go to A Class or C - if you should lose your mental faculties.

Hence the name - The Mental Capacity Act.

The Government is introducing this Bill because Singapore is ageing rapidly. It is estimated that in less than 15 years, there will be 50,000 people with dementia.

Under the present law, guardians can be appointed for you - after you become mentally incapacitated.

The proposed law allows you to plan in advance.


-- File picture: THE STRAITS TIMES
Admittedly, this is not something many like to do. But advance planning is necessary in many cases.

For example, the law would also allows parents to appoint caregivers - possibly a trusted person or a committee - to look after their children if they die.

Veteran social worker Gerard Ee told me of a father with a mentally-handicapped child.

He is rich enough so his wealth would be his child's guardian. And he has appointed a committee of trustees for his son.

Mr Ee said: 'He is of means and wanted to provide for the child under such an arrangement and not depend on siblings. This is not out of distrust but to avoid placing a burden on the siblings.'

The father, he said, is only too aware that long-term care can be a burden and may change the carer's priorities. This could 'disadvantage' the person being cared for.

'The carer may well have his or her own family to mind, and may face other life pressures which could affect the manner and quality of care being given,' he said.

The emotional part of the equation - the hugs and kisses - he said, would come from the loved ones. 'Those who remain loved ones,' Mr Ee said drily.

As a social worker for more than two decades, he knows first-hand the ugly side of family squabbles. He supports the proposed law because it provides peace of mind for those with a child suffering from a lack of mental capacity.

'In the age of small families, it may be difficult to depend on family support to care for the child. This Act provides an option.

'In the same vein, an individual can also obtain peace of mind to ensure that in the contingency that one loses one's mental capacity, proper care will be provided for,' he said.

Mr Ee is talking about people like you and me.

Looking at the larger picture, we may find it increasingly difficult to count on family members - there are more singles, there are fewer family members.

And as one Chinese saying aptly puts it: One father can support four children, but four children cannot support one father.

For the president of the Alzheimer's Disease Association of Singapore, Dr Ang Peng Chye, the Act is in keeping with the times.

'People with dementia at some point will lose their mental capacity. This act makes provision for a committee of persons to protect their interests,' he said.

He adds tactfully: 'This law will be especially helpful for the elderly with no relatives, or the elderly with dysfunctional families where inter-personal issues between family members get in the way of caring.'

Having a law of course, does not mean that one will not have to deal with sticky issues.

For example, suppose you want to name your richest offspring as your guardian (or 'donee' in legal terms), but he refuses?

What if the man you name as trustee turns from a God-fearing doting father into an inveterate gambler?

No doubt, many of these questions will be answered in the coming months, as the Government is undertaking a public consultation exercise from now till the end of October.

These questions are never easy.

Sure, it would be tempting to shut them out.

But to do so would be to say 'I don't care what happens to my family or what happens to me once I've said good bye'.

It is not just about deciding who will sign your cheques.

It is about deciding how life will go on.


What it's about

The Mental Capacity Act is a law that allows you to:

Decide who will look after you and your assets if you lose your mental capacity

Appoint caregivers for your intellectually-disabled children.

Public consultation exercise now till 31Oct. Go to www.reach.gov.sg

Source: http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg