TV presenter Anita Kapoor is a familiar face on our screens. But in this 70-minute documentary, you’ll see a different side of her as she volunteers for a two-week stay at the Salvation Army’s Peacehaven Nursing Home. Commissioned by the Lien Foundation, Anita’s Nursing Home Stay offers a poignant (and rare) glimpse into the daily lives of residents in the nursing home.
It was an emotional rollercoaster for Kapoor, to say the least. Treated as a person who couldn’t walk, who suffered from mild dementia and had incontinence and problems swallowing, her experience saw her slowly being stripped of her dignity as she slept in a six-bed ward, donned adult diapers, had nurses bathe her and moved around in a wheelchair. She was also made to wear a body jacket that was tied to the bed to keep her from falling off in the night.
But her stay wasn’t all doom and gloom. In one particular compelling scene, Kapoor connected with an elderly lady who reminded her of her own grandma. Later on, she tearfully witnessed the same woman reconnecting with her daughter, who she struggled to remember because of her dementia.
Carve out some time from your day to watch the documentary below — it’s an eye-opening look at life in a nursing home, and that’s especially relevant now, with 12,000 residents living in 70 nursing homes in Singapore. And the numbers just keep rising.
If you’re interested in finding out more about eldercare, visit the Nursing Homes Singapore website.
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