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I welcome the announcement on active ageing centres by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during his National Day Rally speech ( , Aug 21). These centres will definitely help seniors fight against declining mental health. If the Government expands these centres too fast without a corresponding increase in manpower, my concern is that it will lead to mental stress for the workers due to understaffing. It is easy to build more centres but to have sufficient staff, including volunteers, will not be easy, especially when our healthcare system is already under great stress due to manpower issues. In its drive to take care of the ageing population, the Government should focus on ensuring the health of caregiving staff. Once such caregivers are affected by mental health issues, it will be very difficult to tackle the problem. Their health must be taken care of first before they can help others.