About Queenstown Multi-Service Centre

 

The Queenstown Multi-Service Centre (QMSC) is currently at Mei Chin Road and serves the elderly residing in the neighbouring Queenstown area. It has been a distinctive landmark of the neighbourhood since its opening in 1998. The QMSC was the brainchild of former MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, Mr Chay Wai Chuen PBM. Foreseeing the trend of an ageing population way back in the mid-1990s, together with the rising cost of institutional care for the elderly, Mr Chay saw the need for a community-based health care centre that could provide affordable and quality health care services for the elderly.

Working tirelessly, Mr Chay and his team rallied the support of the then Tanjong Pagar CDC, the Queenstown CCC, the Home Nursing Foundation and the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society and saw the concept to its fruition, culminating in the official opening of the QMSC on 8 Nov 1998 by then Senior Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew. QMSC now has two partners, the Queenstown CCC and the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society and its Adviser is Dr Chia Shi-Lu, MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC.

 

Over the last 17 years, more than 2,000 elderly citizens have benefited from its wide variety of available services. The centre serves as many as 60 Day-care services are provided for the frail elderly whose family members are out of the house for work in the day. At the centre, they are engaged in activities such as arts and crafts, calligraphy, tea appreciation and sing-along sessions. These activities are important in catering to the psychological needs of the elderly and keep them active and mentally alert. Outings are also organised for the centre’s elderly.

Together with community hospitals, the centre organises regular health screening sessions for the elderly residing in the GRC. These include general health as well as eye screening events. In addition, volunteer doctors, nurses and physiotherapists conduct regular health checks on the elderly. Health education talks are organised for them in order to disseminate important information on personal hygiene and healthy lifestyle.

The centre caters to many elderly folk who have suffered from ailments like strokes, paralysis, fractures and neurological defects. For such ailments, adequate rehabilitation is the cornerstone of successful therapy. Without the necessary rehabilitative treatment, the affected individuals will progress into a chronic state, worsening the current condition and requiring further unnecessary institutional care. In this vein, the centre has a dedicated team of physiotherapists and occupational therapists, who work tirelessly with the elderly in order to rehabilitate them. A wide range of rehabilitative equipment is on-hand to facilitate this aim.

To help the CCC foster a caring society, QMSC has launched several outreach programmes that have successfully attracted many teachers and students from the nearby schools as well as members of the community to volunteer their services to the centre.

A two-way transport service is provided for the elderly from their homes through its one 20-seater bus and two 10-seater vans. In addition, the vans are also equipped with wheelchair lifts.

As our population increases, so will the number of elderly requiring our services. Plans have been made to cater to this demand as well as to provide other more comprehensive services. With the centre being just renovated, more resources and equipment are now available to cater to more of our needy and elderly citizens.