Medical Assistance
Many a times, poverty is intertwined with illness and disability. Some people became poor after contracting a major disease or becoming disabled due to an accident. Such irreversible physical condition usually cost the unfortunate their career and thus the loss of financial stability. Hence, medical assistance is part of the schemes under Tzu Chi Mission of Charity to serve the needy community better.
Besides providing subsidies for medical expenses, the provision of medical supplies is also a major feature of our medical assistance programme. For long-term users who are struggling with their own limited financials, when the annual costs of their medical supplies constantly outstrip the limits of government grants and allowances, Tzu Chi will step in to fill the gap.
Volunteers sort medical supplies, such as adult diapers, waste bags, nutritional milk, etc. according to type, size, quantity, and home address, before personally delivering them to individual households during the monthly home visits.
The types of medical assistance provided by Tzu Chi are as follows:
Medical consumables
Interim dialysis fees
Medical transport fees
Day care fees
 
HIV medication fees
Antenatal check fees
Medical consumables
Interim dialysis fees
Medical transport fees
Day care fees
 
HIV medication fees
Antenatal check fees
Apply for Assistance
Renal Support Programme
Offering timely assistance to relieve suffering
According to official reports, there are an average of six new cases of kidney disease each day in Singapore. Some of these renal patients have to rely on dialysis for survival before a transplant is possible.
In 2005, Tzu Chi volunteers discovered that some renal patients had to wait two to three months for the disbursement of funds after applying for subsidies for dialysis from other organisations, and fell into financial hardships as they were unable to afford the expensive treatments. Furthermore, a number of Tzu Chi care recipients were also suffering from renal disease. Thus, Tzu Chi partnered with hospitals and non-profit dialysis centres to launch the Dialysis Assistance Programme in April to assist needy renal patients regardless of race and religion and is available to both Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. Patients may apply for the assistance through medical social workers, and a Tzu Chi home visit team will assess each case.
Tzu Chi also provides transport allowances for patients with mobility problems who are unable to afford the transport costs of travelling between their home and the dialysis centre.
Home visit teams will make care visits to beneficiary patients once a month, to monitor their health conditions as well as to give them moral support. Patients who are in need of further financial aid will be referred to the Foundation.
Given the increasing demand for assistance and support in this area, we are getting our staff and volunteers trained and enhancing our services to cater to more renal patients with different needs. Currently, we are accompanying our renal care recipients with the following programmes:
Dialysis Assistance Programme
The assistance programme caters to dialysis patients with different needs over two schemes. The first scheme is the Interim Dialysis Assistance scheme, which provides 3 months of interim funding for patients undergoing dialysis at private dialysis centres while waiting for long-term subsidised placement. The period of subsidy has been extended to up to 6 months since 2022 due to a supply shortage of affordable dialysis treatment services.
The second scheme is the Dialysis Transport Assistance scheme, which pays for the costs of travelling between home and the dialysis centre by taxi, wheelchair-friendly transport or ambulance for frail patients with mobility problems. About $8.6 million worth of funding has been granted as of Mar 2023, benefitting more than 3,800 dialysis patients. The same programme also includes non-financial support in the form of home visits to monitor and provide moral support to these care recipients.
Renal Support Programme
This group programme provides psychosocial support to renal patients through companionship by volunteers, occasional gatherings at Tzu Chi premises and a Telegram Channel which periodically delivers helpful information to renal patients.
Renal Conservative (Non-Dialysis) Care Programme
This is a joint programme between Tzu Chi and Sengkang General Hospital, which aims to optimise the medical care for elderly kidney failure patients age 60 and above to slow down renal disease progression, manage complications, and control symptoms through a holistic approach to maintain their quality of life. Kidney failure patients are assessed and referred by Sengkang General Hospital, and the community nurses will provide regular home visits.
Renal Dialysis Centre
Tzu Chi is operating a dialysis centre in Buangkok. It is the first dialysis centre operated by Tzu Chi and helps to meet the increasing demand for dialysis services in the northeastern zone of Singapore.
Stories of Love and Compassion
Benefitting a Family by Helping One Person
43 years old Imran was diagnosed with kidney failure caused by diabetes in October 2020. After being diagnosed with kidney disease, he started developing other health problems including stage 3 depression, anxiety, panic attack, mild stroke, thyroid cancer, and a cardiovascular issue that could lead to sudden death.
As the sole breadwinner of the family of four, the news came as a shock for him. Imran used to be an active person who likes to do a variety of sports and sweat under the sun. It took him 3 months to finally accept the fact that he has to undergo dialysis and that life will never be the same again. The monetary aid from Tzu Chi’s interim dialysis assistance scheme helped cover the hefty dialysis cost while Imran waited for the long-term subsidised placement from NKF.
Helping ESKD Elderly Live the Life they want in their Remaining Years
85 years old Mr Oh was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure in 2021. Instead of opting for haemodialysis, Mr Oh chose to receive Renal Conservative (Non-Dialysis) Care (“RCC”). After deciding on conservative non-dialysis treatment and being enrolled on the RCC Programme, Mr Oh can work six days a week without feeling tired. He was glad that he need not spend the rest of his life going to the hospital or the dialysis centre frequently. Despite already reaching the golden age in life, Mr Oh has been able to work take care of his wife after returning home from work.
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