iKare provides Medical Escort and Transport in Singapore. We can support your transport needs from home to medical appointments and back. Our friendly care aides are there for you every step of the way to care for your loved ones, and call you during and after the service for your peace of mind.
This service is useful for frail or elderly clients who are homebound and need assistance to go for their medical appointments and treatments. iKare’s medical escort and transport in Singapore service provides transportation or a stand-in caregiver to accompany clients to travel to and from their homes.
These medical appointments may be at the hospital, outpatient clinics, or polyclinics; or even an outing to the supermarket, visits to family, or the park.
People who need help with their activities of daily living (ADLs) and don’t have a caregiver during the day can utilise this service. Each medical appointment may be 4-5 hours including transport and waiting time.
Reasons why people skip medical appointments
On average, one in four patients in Singapore do not show up for their medical appointments. There are many reasons why people do so. One is that some people may be financially strained and not want to spend more on medical bills. Another reason could be the dread of seeing a doctor or healthcare profession, with any potential bad news or negative experiences in the past. Some procedures may also feel scary to people who aren’t familiar with them, or might feel uncomfortable. Thirdly, time could be an issue, with other commitments like work or family taking precedence, and people may forget to attend. Lastly, homebound elderly may have difficulty keeping appointments because of difficulty in transport or lack of caregivers to supervise them.
For seniors in particular, waiting time to queue for the healthcare professionals can be tiring and arduous if nobody is there to accompany them. Additionally, if their caregiver is an older spouse or someone who lacks the strength, it is difficult to help with things like manual transfers from home to the vehicle.
For seniors whose primary caregiver are their spouses, additional care support may be required due to their own health conditions and physical constraints. Especially if the care recipient needs to be manually transferred from their bed to a wheelchair and then to the vehicle.
If your loved one has behavioural or cognitive issues, they may attend the appointment but end up forgetting the advice or getting confused with their medications. This could cause medication errors.
Consequences of missed medical appointments
Defaulting on medical appointments including routine vaccinations, health screening, treatment, or chronic disease management, can have detrimental effects on our health.
The disease may worsen with delayed treatment and the patient may end up back in hospital with more severe complications. When a disease is caught early or treated in time, it helps to reduce any damage it can cause to the body.
Hence, families will use us for transport to attend:
– Medical or treatment appointments at the hospital
– Medical or treatment appointments at the clinic
– Appointments to see other healthcare professionals
– Health screening or preventative healthcare like vaccinations or blood tests
– Daycare Centre session
– Therapy sessions
– Important functions or events
Medical escort and transport in Singapore – more than just transport!
iKare’s trained medical escorts are specially selected and trained to help support your loved one. Not just in transporting them to the right places, but also everything in-between. Emotional support, personal care, toileting, providing accurate account of the medical professional’s communication, and correct administration of medications.
How does the process work?
Speak to our friendly Kare Manager to arrange for a service. Once we’ve confirmed the care recipient’s details, location and destination, timing, equipment needed, etc, we dispatch our medical escort to collect your care recipient. They will call you during and after the service for your peace of mind. All our medical escorts undergo extensive training on home care skills. They are in-house full-time employees, so you can get continuity of care with the same person. They are the friendly smile to help get your loved one to the right places and safely back home. Ultimately, this helps them get medical care they need at the right time to live the healthiest life they can.
