SINGAPORE — A new S$4.48 million community rehabilitation initiative is aiming to change how people with Parkinson’s disease manage the condition, with an ambitious target of reaching about 2,000 patients over the next five years.
The programme, known as Kickstart Exercise and Empower Parkinson’s (KEEP), began rolling out in January 2026 and is being progressively introduced across 13 day-rehabilitation centres in Singapore.
The initiative is backed by the Lien Foundation in partnership with Parkinson Society Singapore (PSS), NHG Health’s Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the National Neuroscience Institute and other SingHealth institutions.
The goal is not simply to provide exercise classes.
Instead, KEEP is designed to intervene earlier — helping people maintain mobility, independence and mental well-being before their symptoms become significantly more disabling.
A different approach to Parkinson’s care
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological condition associated with symptoms including tremors, slowness of movement and difficulties with walking and balance.
CNA reported that more than 10,000 people in Singapore are estimated to be living with Parkinson’s, making it the country’s second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s. With Singapore’s population ageing, doctors expect the number of people affected to increase.
Rather than waiting for patients to deteriorate and require more intensive medical intervention, specialists behind KEEP want rehabilitation to begin earlier.
Associate Professor Tay Kay Yaw, head and senior consultant at the National Neuroscience Institute’s Regional Department of Neurology (North), said a reactive “wait-and-see” approach could eventually lead to greater healthcare needs, falls, hospital admissions and complications.
The thinking behind KEEP is straightforward: strengthen patients while they are still able to benefit from structured rehabilitation.
What happens inside the programme?
KEEP was co-designed by physiotherapists, occupational therapists, medical social workers and Parkinson’s movement-disorder specialists from Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the National Neuroscience Institute.
Participants receive training designed around the challenges associated with Parkinson’s, including walking, turning, balance and everyday movement.
Physiotherapy sessions, for example, can teach patients strategies to take bigger steps, move more efficiently and turn more safely — important because turning can increase the risk of falls among people with Parkinson’s.
The programme also incorporates group activities.
That matters because Parkinson’s is not only a physical challenge. People living with the condition can experience social isolation, anxiety and fear of being judged because of visible symptoms such as tremors.
PSS executive director Phyllis Lim said some patients become afraid to go out because they worry about how others will perceive them.
Caregivers are part of the equation
The programme also recognises that Parkinson’s affects more than the person diagnosed.
Caregivers will receive six training sessions aimed at helping them understand the condition, adapt daily routines and expectations, and better support their loved ones while reducing the risk of caregiver burnout.
This emphasis on community and caregiver support builds on Singapore’s longer-running effort to move Parkinson’s support beyond hospital settings.
The Ministry of Health has previously highlighted the importance of community-based support, noting that people with Parkinson’s can benefit from care and caregiver support closer to home rather than relying entirely on frequent hospital visits.
Parkinson Society Singapore has also operated community-based programmes for years, including physiotherapy, Tai Chi, Pilates, speech-related activities, cognitive stimulation and caregiver support. Its latest programme schedule now includes several KEEP sessions alongside these existing activities.
Patients will be monitored for changes
KEEP is also intended to evolve with the patient.
Participants are expected to undergo regular assessments, with check-ins every six months from enrolment for up to two years. These assessments can be used to adjust rehabilitation and mental-health plans if deterioration is detected.
That element is important because Parkinson’s does not progress in exactly the same way for everyone.
A rehabilitation programme that works for someone in the early stages may need to change as mobility, balance or other symptoms develop.
Singapore is expanding the community support network
The programme is being delivered through day-rehabilitation centres operated by six community-care providers, including AWWA, Care Corner Seniors Services Singapore and NTUC Health.
PSS will act as the master trainer and primary training site, helping community partners strengthen rehabilitation standards across the network.
The Lien Foundation has also allocated S$1.2 million of the S$4.48 million investment toward co-designing and launching a second Parkinson Centre operated by PSS.
That expansion comes as demand for community support grows.
PSS’s latest annual report said the organisation increased its programmes from 28 to 32 and its weekly classes from 49 to 64 in 2024, with more than 350 people with Parkinson’s gathering at its centre each week. The organisation said it is working toward opening a second Parkinson Centre to improve accessibility.
Why this could matter beyond the 2,000 patients
The significance of KEEP may ultimately extend beyond its five-year target.
Singapore is facing an ageing population, while Parkinson’s becomes more common with age. That means the demand for rehabilitation, caregiver support and community-based services is unlikely to disappear.
The programme represents a shift from treating Parkinson’s care as something that happens mainly inside hospitals to a more continuous model involving rehabilitation, exercise, mental health, social connection and caregiver education in the community.
And there is growing interest internationally in rehabilitation approaches that combine conventional therapy with newer technologies and more personalised interventions. Recent research has highlighted the potential of immersive technologies alongside conventional rehabilitation for Parkinson’s-related movement problems, although such approaches remain an evolving area of research.
For Singapore, however, the immediate challenge is more practical: how to help people stay mobile, independent and socially connected for as long as possible.
KEEP is an attempt to answer that question before a patient reaches the point where a fall, hospitalisation or major loss of independence forces the healthcare system to respond.
And with 2,000 people targeted over five years, the real test will be whether this community-first approach can become a lasting part of how Singapore manages Parkinson’s as its population continues to age.
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