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We thank Mr Gary Teo Teck Chye for his letter and feedback ( , Oct 12). We agree with Mr Teo that good communication between care staff and seniors is important. We have contacted him and the aged-care facility in question, and are heartened that he was assured of the quality of care provided by the facility staff. The Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) provides eight basic and intermediate conversational language and dialect courses through its learning institutes. In addition, community care organisations also train their staff to communicate better with seniors. AIC has also been working closely with community care organisations and various partners to expand the range of meaningful and engaging activities for seniors, including music, arts, sports, reminiscence and intergenerational activities. Such activities not only bring therapeutic benefits that have a positive impact on seniors’ well-being, but also let community care staff build stronger bonds with seniors. As our population ages, there will continue to be growing demands on healthcare manpower. To meet the care needs of our ageing population, we will have to take a multi-pronged approach that includes recruiting foreign nurses to augment our local workforce, as well as working with families and caregivers. AIC will continue to work with our community care partners to further enhance the language capabilities of staff and ensure a high quality of care for seniors.  Group Chief, Sector and Partnerships Division Agency for Integrated Care