I sat in on the keynote by YB the Minister of Health at the Brunei Business Conference recently, and scribbled down the six priority areas he gave for healthcare in the country. Writing them out here so I do not lose them.
The first is expanding healthcare capacity, which covers daycare surgeries, rehabilitation, dialysis and aged care. Then there is investing in quality care, with expanded services at Jerudong Park Medical Centre. Digital health and innovation came next, and BruHealth got a mention there. After that, health insurance and takaful, then strengthening local healthcare manufacturing. The last one was workplace health, which includes smoke free environments, healthy food and mental health.
Of the six, the one I keep coming back to is aged care. Probably because it is the one most of us will bump into sooner or later, if we have not already.
We grew up believing you look after your parents when they get old, and I still think that is right. But look at how households run today. Smaller families, husband and wife both working, children with their own schedules. Caring for an elderly parent is tiring, physically and emotionally, and good intentions only take you so far. Love does not teach you how to lift a parent safely or run a rehabilitation routine.
So what families need are real options. Trained people, proper facilities, rehabilitation, and support that lets an older person keep their dignity, whether at home or somewhere else. Seeing aged care listed right next to dialysis and daycare surgery told me it is being treated as part of the core health system and not as an afterthought.
The private sector has been quietly at work here too. I came across Tamada Nursing Services, which describes itself as Brunei’s very first private nursing company, in operation since 2012. Going through their Facebook page, they supply private nurses and caregivers to families, train new caregivers, and have even run first aid sessions for daycare staff. So families have had a private option for a while now, and with more of us needing it, I would not be surprised to see more join them.
The other priorities tie in as well. Digital health could help families keep an eye on a parent from a distance. Insurance and takaful decide whether good care is affordable or just available on paper. And workplace health matters because so many of us are working adults looking after ageing parents at the same time, usually without making a fuss about it.
There is a business angle too, which I think gets overlooked. A sector like this needs investment, skills and fresh ideas, and a business conference is a fair place to say so.
If you have looked after an elderly parent or relative here in Brunei, I would like to hear from you. What would have made the biggest difference?