Latest news with #AACs
Straits Times
21-07-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
AI-powered app accurately identifies pre-dementia seniors, to be available in 2026
Madam Tan Yew Tee (centre) with daughter and caregiver Nancy Hoon (right) and Dr Liew Tau Ming. She was one of the participants in the nationwide study. SINGAPORE - A new locally developed digital application powered by artificial intelligence (AI) takes less than five minutes to identify seniors with early memory problems or pre-dementia, with an accuracy rate of up to 93 per cent. Patients can use Pensieve-AI to draw pictures on a tablet with a stylus and the app's AI will check different areas of thinking and memory before analysing the drawings for signs of pre-dementia. It will soon replace current screening tools doctors use to assess for dementia, which include using pen and paper to draw a clock and recalling three random unrelated words, such as banana, sunrise and chair. A nationwide study of the app completed in September 2024 found that it achieved an accuracy of 93 per cent in detecting pre-dementia, a result that is as good as current gold standard of detailed cognitive testing. The results were published in the scientific journal Nature Communications at the end of March . Pensieve-AI was developed by the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) , and it will be rolled out islandwide in 2026. Dr Liew Tau Ming, a senior consultant in the department of psychiatry at SGH, said the Pensieve-AI test, which comprises four drawing tasks including a clock, can be done by seniors themselves with little or no help in 3½ minutes. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Subsidies and grants for some 20,000 people miscalculated due to processing issue: MOH Singapore 2 workers stranded on gondola dangling outside Raffles City Tower rescued by SCDF Business Why Singapore and its businesses stand to lose with US tariffs on the region Singapore NTU introduces compulsory cadaver dissection classes for medical students from 2026 Business $1.1 billion allocated to three fund managers to boost Singapore stock market: MAS Singapore Jail for man who conspired with another to bribe MOH agency employee with $18k Paris trip Singapore Jail, caning for man who held metal rod to cashier's neck in failed robbery attempt The current test can take up to 30 minutes to complete, depending on the patient's literacy skills, and it needs trained staff to administer. 'It was in June 2020 when we started to discus and develop the app. A year later, in June 2021, we started our study on whether the AI would be able to detect pre-dementia. We recruited nearly 1,800 seniors aged 65 and above for the study,' Dr Liew said. Pensieve-AI is available on tablets located at places such as Active Ageing Centres (AACs). It cannot be downloaded to smartphones, to prevent people from learning to draw the images by rote. 'Mild cognitive impairment, or more commonly referred to as pre-dementia, is often missed because it can be mistaken as part of normal ageing. But pre-dementia can show up as more frequent memory lapses, trouble finding the right words, or increasing difficulty managing day-to-day tasks,' he said. This is worrying for the authorities as the number of people living with dementia will rise as Singapore's population ages. By 2030, about 80,000 of the almost one million seniors in Singapore are projected to have dementia. Seniors can take the Pensieve-AI test themselves with little or no help. It comprises four drawing tasks and can be completed in less than five minutes. ST PHOTO: HESTER TAN One participant of the Pensieve-AI study was Madam Tan Yew Tee, 84, who was found to have early dementia after she was tested using the app. 'My mother has a penchant for bringing home brochures and it was a blessing that she brought the one on Pensieve-AI back from the AAC which she was attending,' said her daughter and caregiver Nancy Hoon, 59. 'That was how we found out her condition. Otherwise, I would have thought she was getting older and her forgetfulness and memory lapse were all part of ageing. She kept asking me what day it was every five minutes. It was exasperating. Only after I found out that she has early dementia that I became more understanding towards her,' she said. Today, Madam Tan continues to go to an AAC and her daughter also schedules for her activities to engage in with other seniors, such as arts and craft . 'The socialisation seems to have helped stave (off) the condition. She seems happier and is no longer the woman who sat and daydreamed in front of the television every day,' Ms Hoon said.
Straits Times
07-07-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
More nurses to anchor care in community settings as Singapore's population ages
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Minister for Health and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Ong Ye Kung speaks at the Nurses' Merit Award ceremony in Shangri-La Hotel, on July 7. SINGAPORE - More nurses will be trained to anchor care in community care settings, take on leadership roles in nursing homes as well as delivering end-of-life care in the community to cope with a rapidly aging population, said Mr Ong Ye Kung, Health Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Polices. 'If community care is effective… I think we will be able to detect health concerns as early as possible. And if we can detect (them) early, the conditions will be less severe, intervention will be as simple as possible,' he said. He was speaking at the 2025 nurses' merit award held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Orange Grove Road on July 7. There, he conferred the awards on 141 nurses who had performed exceptionally well and contributed to raising the nursing profession. Three nursing roles will be scaled up to strengthen care in the community, where there is a growing need, including nurses at community health posts. Right now, some 90 per cent of the Active Ageing Centres (AACs) have Community Health Posts (CHPs), where nurses set up on a weekly basis. Mr Ong said the extensive outreach of the AACs needs to be tapped for preventive or continual care to reach the seniors, through the CHPs. This will complement hospital acute care, strengthen Singapore's preventive care strategy Healthier SG and the work of family doctors. Each day, there are six kidney failure patients and 60 heart attack and stroke patients, and if the CHPs can help those who are unaware of their condition or reluctant to seek help, the numbers can be lowered, he pointed out. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Four golf courses to close by 2035, leaving Singapore with 12 courses Singapore Eligible S'poreans to get up to $850 in cash, up to $450 in MediSave top-ups in August Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032 Singapore New SkillsFuture requirements from April 2026 to mandate regular training for adult educators Singapore MPs should not ask questions to 'clock numbers'; focus should be improving S'poreans' lives: Seah Kian Peng Singapore Sequencing and standards: Indranee on role of Leader of the House Asia Australian woman found guilty of all counts in mushroom murders case Singapore Life After... blazing biomedical research trail in S'pore: Renowned scientist breaks new ground at 59 'Nurses in CHPs will need to establish yourselves as the first point of contact for residents with chronic conditions, preventive health needs, or emerging symptoms,' he said. They will be able to conduct assessments, provide health counselling to patients, and ensure that patients are adhering to their health plans prescribed by their Healthier SG doctor. 'They see their Healthier SG doctor maybe once or twice a year. In between, they can see our nurses at CHPs,' said Mr Ong. With training, CHP nurses can also conduct social prescribing (helping patients to improve their health and well being by connecting them to community services) and referrals and manage patients with stable mental health conditions, he said. A system is also needed to provide community nurses with the relevant backend information and advisory support so that they can operate independently, and with as much autonomy as possible, he said, In long-term care, the Health Ministry has been upskilling the nurses in nursing homes to better care for patients to minimise the chances of patients having to move to acute hospitals and back. Now, it wants to strengthen the process by training more nurse clinicians to lead the care in long-term residential care settings. Mr Ong said Nurse Clinicians need to be empowered , particularly Advanced Practice Nurses who are practising at the apex of the profession. MOH is working towards allowing Nurse Clinicians, starting with APNs, to assess and initiate first-line treatments or medications and conduct six-monthly chronic reviews within defined protocols in nursing homes. This will help to minimise hospital admissions and emergency department visits, resulting in fewer transitions, improving quality of care, he explained. Furthermore, more nurses will be trained to deliver end -of-life care in the community. To scale up the three roles, not only will training need to be enhanced, a more flexible regulatory approach will be needed, he said. For example, if the vision is to enhance the role of community nurses to provide more comprehensive care as early and as close to home as possible, then MOH will need need to review the nurses' scope of practice, equip them with advanced skills and create clear patterns or collaborative care. 'If, as regulators, we disallow this evolution of practice, then the needs of an ageing population will not be met,' said Mr Ong. Also, manpower upgrading will be made easier, with working nurses able to take up courses lasting a few weeks or a couple of months, and then applying them at the workplace immediately. The two polytechnics delivering three advanced and specialist diploma programmes in palliative nursing, in both part-time and full-time formats, will be shifting these programmes to a work-study format in 2027, Mr Ong said. On Monday , the 141 nurses who received the merit awards each received a medal to wear on their uniform and a cash prize of $1,000. Nurses at the Nurses' Merit Award ceremony in Shangri-La Hotel, on July 7. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY One of them is Azhar Mohd, a 56-year-old nurse clinician from Singapore General Hospital with 34 years of nursing experience. Based at the hospital's Ambulatory Endoscopy Centre, he has developed training programmes for new endoscopy nurses. He has also been a lecturer for the Specialist Diploma in Endoscopy at Nanyang Polytechnic since 2018. Endoscopy is a procedure in which an instrument is introduced into the body to give a view of its internal parts and look out for diseases. Ms Megawati, 39, a nurse clinician from NUHS Regional Health System Office, has contributed to improving the transitional care for patients moving from the community to nursing homes, which reduced the frequency of their hospital re-admissions. As a community nurse, on any given day, she might be heading to a patient's home to assess for risk of falls or help them manage their chronic issues for instance, or to Community Health Post to do the same. Ms Megawati, a nurse clinician from NUHS Regional Health System Office, heads a team of 11 nurses who are now focusing on helping the residents in Chua Chu Kang with their health. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY 'When you step inside the home, you can see their challenges and how to help them better,' said the mother of two. Ms Megawati, who spent 18 years studying part-time for a Bachelor's degree in nursing that she obtained last year, heads a team of 11 nurses who are now focusing on helping the residents in Chua Chu Kang with their health. Ms Tan Nengping, 61, a senior nurse manager from the Health Promotion Board who leads three school health screening teams is another winner. She led efforts to develop a more efficient system for the equipment and surgical inventory such as swabs for HPB's Youth Preventive Health Service department.
Hindustan Times
14-06-2025
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Ludhiana: Arogya Kendras still with AAC branding, CM Mann's picture on prescription slips
While the health department had converted 65 Aam Aadmi Clinics (AACs) into Ayushman Arogya Kendras in January, the facilities' interior keep bearing the branding of Aam Aadmi Clinic (AAC) and a picture of chief minister Bhagwant Mann on prescription slips. The change was made to restore central government's funding under the National Health Mission (NHM). CM Mann's picture and AAC brandings on the exterior were removed and replaced with new boards bearing the changed name and logo. District nodal officer, AACs, Dr Seema Chopra, said, 'We were asked by the higher-ups to change the branding only on the exterior of the buildings. We were told nothing about the interiors.' There were a total of 94 AACs in Ludhiana. The ones being jointly run by the state and Union governments were rebranded. The rest (29), which are completely funded by the state government, continue as AACs. The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) criticised the state government's move of retaining AACs branding on the interiors of the Aarogya Kendras. BJP district president Rajnish Dhiman said, 'Earlier, the state was deprived of essential funding under the National Health Mission due to the AAP-led state government's failure to comply with rules set for Aarogya Kendras, turning these health facilities into an avenue for advertisement. Now, if the Union government takes a strong note of this, and the funding is stopped again, the AAP will blame the Centre.' 'If the funding stops, it will be the people who will be at the receiving end,' he added. Since 2023, the state government has opened 842 Aam Aadmi Clinics in the state. While some of these were new facilities built by the state government, others were opened at the already existing primary health centres and health and wellness centres, which were run by the Union and the state governments with contribution in the 60:40 ratio. The Union government had stopped funding (to the tune of over ₹700 crore) to Punjab under the National Health Mission (NHM) in early 2023. After almost two years of tussle, the Union government and the state government had in November 2024 came to an agreement wherein the state agreed removing the AAC branding and Mann's photos from the primary health centres and health and wellness centres to receive funds under the NHM.
Irish Examiner
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Letters to the Editor: Department must respect decisions from ASTI
As a post-primary teacher, I am writing to express my concern regarding the accelerated timeline of the senior cycle redevelopment programme. I strongly urge education minister Helen McEntee to pause this acceleration and not to penalise ASTI members who have voted overwhelmingly (68% to 32%, 73% turnout) to reject the senior cycle redevelopment implementation support measures. In a separate ballot, ASTI members also voted 67% to 33% in favour of industrial action if necessary. This is a powerful signal of the profession's genuine and widespread concern. ASTI's position is based on well-researched and well-documented realities. Many schools, especially Deis and smaller rural schools, currently lack the capacity and resourcing to deliver such wide-ranging changes effectively. Teachers are being asked to take on significantly increased workload without adequate training, time, or infrastructure. The risks of insufficient authentication of additional assessment components (AACs), challenges around AI, and inequality of provision are very real and have not been sufficiently addressed. The department of education's press release outlines several measures, but these do not address the core issues raised by teachers. Moreover, the decision to accelerate this reform by a full year under Ms McEntee's predecessor has created deep mistrust. Teachers were not consulted on this change of pace, which is being imposed on a system already under strain. The current approach risks harming the very students it is meant to serve. Science, in particular, is already under-resourced in many schools, and introducing new specifications under these conditions will result in a postcode lottery of educational quality. The minister needs to: Respect the clear democratic decision of ASTI members; refrain from using the public service agreement to force through measures without consensus; and restore the original timeline to allow genuine consultation and proper preparation across all schools. The minister stated a commitment to supporting students, but sustainable reform cannot be achieved without bringing teachers along. Rushing ahead risks creating deeper divisions, damaging morale, and ultimately harming educational outcomes. I appeal to Ms McEntee to act with leadership and wisdom and pause the timeline, re-engage with teachers, and deliver a reform process that will truly serve students, teachers, and the wider system. Michael McGrath, St Augustine's College, Abbeyside, Dungarvan, Co Waterford Housewife column hits nail on head Jennifer Horgan's article 'Being a homemaker is hard, even harder when it's no longer valued' is an excellent and compelling piece of journalism. As a male clinician who, over the years, has heard countless women say that their roles are unappreciated, I am acutely aware of how challenging being a homemaker is. I totally get where Ms Horgan is coming from. I believe she is correct in saying: 'Irish society knowingly exploits women. We need their duties, but just can't mention them.' I do believe that, for many women, being a homemaker is thankless in that it's never-ending. It offers no salary and is a profession in which many women sacrifice just about everything in order to provide a home and upkeep for their families. With more women working outside the home, there is an increased demand for daycare and early pre-schools — which is very exacting and demanding. Fewer women today are able to stay at home and care for their children as a result of the high cost of living. However, there are some women who are still able to remain full-time homemakers — thus providing an atmosphere for their families that is seldom seen anymore. It is my contention that raising children and being a housewife is one of the hardest jobs for any one person. I find Ms Horgan's summation to be somewhat poignant and heartbreaking yet true when she says: 'As with every type of oppression women endure, we see but we don't see. Such is our way.' In response to the same, I would like to see society recognise the valuable contributions of our homemakers as their worth is essential for the wellbeing of families and communities. Homemakers provide the foundation for stable and loving homes, which are crucial for child development and overall societal wellbeing. John O'Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary Are we a nation of animal lovers? It's a peculiar fact that the first known attempt to legislate against animal cruelty anywhere in the world was here in Ireland. In 1635, a law was enacted to criminalise the practice of pulling wool off sheep (as distinct from shearing them) and the equally cruel custom of attaching ploughs to animals' tails. It has been argued that the law was motivated as much by a desire to raise revenue as by concern for the unfortunate animals, but it's still a milestone. It represented a first tentative step towards humane treatment of animals. And in the 19th century, Irish MP Richard Martin of Galway founded the world's first animal protection society, as well as campaigning against the 'sports' of bull-baiting and bear-baiting. With this remarkable record, it's all the more baffling and abhorrent that animal cruelty is so widespread in Ireland today. Abandoned horses can be found weekly, dead or dying of neglect or ill-treatment, in fields or on roadsides nationwide. An RTÉ report exposed the selling of unwanted racehorses that ended up in the EU food chain, and the merciless flogging of horses in an abattoir. Livestock raised on Irish farms are sent on long, stressful sea journeys, profit trumping any objections to their sad and lonely plight. Animal shelters are full to overflowing with dogs and cats, animals that once happily dwelt in homes, only to be ejected from the company of those they adored. We applaud when efforts are made to reintroduce a long absent species of wildlife, only to read a few weeks or months later that they've been blasted out of the sky or poisoned. Illegal poaching has worsened over the past five years, with farmers living in fear of hunters who trespass to kill wildlife. The badger, a shy nocturnal mammal, can end up being snared as part of the bovine TB eradication scheme, if it's lucky enough to have avoided the baiting gangs or the loss of habitat due to building projects. Even as State wildlife rangers struggle to contain poaching, a State licence facilitates the setting of dogs on our supposedly 'protected' native hares. Hare coursing is almost unknown outside Ireland. The countries that once permitted it have long since consigned it to oblivion, with the exception of Pakistan and Iberia. And we retain the quintessential British tradition of fox hunting, which Britain has outlawed, so that our wild dogs can still be chased to exhaustion and death for fun. Despite that promising start back in 1635, I'm afraid we can no longer consider ourselves a nation of animal lovers. To reclaim our humane status, we need to enforce existing anti-cruelty laws and end the savagery of hare coursing, fox hunting, and badger snaring. We can be a light to the world; instead of a hell on Earth for the voiceless. John Fitzgerald, Callan, Co Kilkenny Cork GAA must act to arrest downward spiral in football As a lifelong Cork GAA supporter, it is worrying to see the continuing downward spiral at all levels of Gaelic football. History was created recently with defeat to Kerry at U20 level for the fourth year in a row. Never before has this happened. The minor statistics are even worse. The senior team continues to flounder in Division 2 of the National Football League with little hope of promotion to Division 1. The standard of Cork club football is appalling. If we thought the late 1970s or early 1980s at inter-county level was bad, this is a new low masked by a couple of close encounters with the arch enemy, Kerry, in the last few years — not on Saturday, May 31, though. The question must be asked what if any kind of plans are in place to bring Cork football back to the top level where it should be for a county with the most football clubs in the country. Finally, let's hope the Cork senior hurlers finally reach the holy grail this year with Liam McCarthy Cup returning after a 20-year absence. Tom Harrington, Connaught Avenue, Cork
RTÉ News
09-06-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
ASTI calls for talks with department after Leaving Cert reform rejection
The ASTI has called for talks with the Department of Education following the rejection by its members of measures to support implementation of the Senior Cycle redevelopment programme from this September. Commenting on the comprehensive rejection by teachers' union members of the proposals, the union's General Secretary Kieran Christie said "we think there is scope for further engagement". Asked about the possibility of additional talks now Minister for Education Helen McEntee said Leaving Certificate reform will still go ahead this September and the package of measures that have been agreed will remain. The ASTI rejection, and its strength, has come as a surprise to many as 67% of members rejected the plans in a ballot that had a high turnout - 73% of members. Members also gave their union a mandate for action up to and including industrial action. A week earlier, Teachers Union of Ireland members voted to accept the measures. The TUI leadership had recommended acceptance, whereas the ASTI made no recommendation to its members. The ASTI rejection is a significant indication of the concern felt by teachers around aspects of the reform. What it will mean for the implementation of Senior Cycle reform is not as yet clear. The union's next steps have yet to be agreed upon. Its executive is due to meet in ten days time and, according to Mr Christie, will "be looking at the outcome of the ballot and considering a way forward". Mr Christie said there was "a need now for calm heads to prevail". Teacher concerns centre on Additional Assessment Components (ACCs), which will be worth 40% of all marks in a revamped senior cycle. The AACs will typically involve practical project work completed during the year, which will then be written up into a report and will then be assessed. Teacher concerns include the potential for students to use AI to cheat when writing these reports. There are also other concerns around equity. The science subjects are among the first to be revamped, starting this September for students entering 5th year. Biology teacher and member of the union's Executive Council Adrieanne Healy said teachers were looking for the changes to be paused for a year. Calling the introduction "rushed", she said while some private fee-charging schools had state-of-the-art science laboratories as well as lab technicians, many other schools had facilities of a far lower standard. She said teachers were concerned about the impact of this inequality on student outcomes. Commenting on teacher worries around the potential misuse of AI by students, in order to cheat, Ms Healy said teachers could not understand why a system with "100% integrity" was being replaced with one with only "60% integrity". Speaking later, the Minister for Education said reform of the Leaving Certificate will be an "absolute game changer" for students. "This is about equipping our young people for what is an ever-changing world. It's about taking our pressure off them, that absolute focus on exams at the end of the year and making sure we are testing their abilities, different skills, different requirements for people to move into the workforce," Helen McEntee said. She said acknowledged the ASTI statement but added "Leaving Cert reform will still go ahead this September". "All of the unions have signed up to this as part of the public sector pay agreement," she said.
