*UPDATE: Effective 19 March 2021, the Safe Return Card and ADA Memo will discontinue. If you are interested in the new platform and wish to enjoy the current benefits and more, please write to us at [email protected] with subject “Safe Return Card”.
As part of our efforts to help people living with dementia and their caregivers, especially during the COVID-19 Circuit Breaker period, ADA has launched the ADA Memo, a document which can be produced to help enforcement officers recognise that a person with dementia might have unintentionally flouted the rules due to their condition.
One concern that many caregivers had when COVID-19 Circuit Breaker measures were announced was that their loved ones with dementia might inadvertently break the rules due to their condition. In order to help people living with dementia and their families, especially during the Circuit Breaker period, ADA collaborated with the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) and worked with enforcement authorities on how to create awareness of dementia, and how to render the appropriate assistance should someone with dementia unintentionally break the Circuit Breaker rules.
Through our collaboration, ADA and AIC launched SPOC-19, or ‘Support for Persons living with dementia Over the COVID-19 period’. Under this initiative, persons with dementia and their caregivers can produce any one of three identifiers to help members of the public. Ground enforcement authorities will then recognise this vulnerable group and offer assistance accordingly. The Safe Return Card* by NCSS and In Case of Emergency, Dial (ICED) Stickers by AIC are the other two identifiers that can be used as part of the SPOC-19 initiative.
Of the three identifiers, the ADA Memo is the newest identifier introduced to complement the existing Safe Return Card* and ICED Sticker. The ADA Memo can easily be applied for through an electronic form at www.dementia.org.sg/ADAmemo. The form can also be applied for through Community Care providers.
The ADA Memo and the other two identifiers do not automatically grant the holder immunity to being penalised for breaking Circuit Breaker rules; rather, these documents are meant to help Enforcement Officers be aware of your loved one’s condition, and use his/her judgement accordingly.
“We have been listening to persons living with dementia and their caregivers, and we fully understand that it can be a challenge to adhere strictly to the Circuit Breaker rules. This personalised ADA Memo will identify them as being registered with ADA, and appeals for patience, support, and understanding from enforcement officers in the event that they are approached for breaking the Circuit Breaker rules inadvertently,” said Mr Jason Foo, Chief Executive Officer, Alzheimer’s Disease Association.
“With the implementation of SPOC-19 and the ADA Memo, ADA hopes to inculcate a more understanding and empathetic community, especially in times of adversity for the nation, in the hopes of building an inclusive, dementia-friendly society.”
Read more news coverage on SPOC-19 at:
- New memo to identify persons with dementia, who might unknowingly flout COVID-19 safe measures, The Straits Times
- COVID-19: Identifiers for person with dementia should they break rules inadvertently, Yahoo Singapore
- 失智症病患将随身携带便笺 应对阻断措施, 8 World
- 失智症患者外出带临时证明单 方便执法人员提供必要协助, Lianhe Zaobao
- Memo baru kenal pasti pesakit demensia yang tanpa sengaja langgar langkah Covid-19, Berita Harian
For more information, write to [email protected] or call the Dementia Helpline at 6377 0700, Monday to Friday (9am to 6pm).
For ADA’s latest advisories on COVID-19, please visit dementia.org.sg/advisory/covid. You may also refer to our list of COVID-19 care tips and suggestions at dementia.org.sg/covid19.
*UPDATE: Effective 19 March 2021, the Safe Return Card and ADA Memo will discontinue. If you are interested in the new platform and wish to enjoy the current benefits and more, please write to us at [email protected] with subject “Safe Return Card”.
