Question:

(a) Discuss two (2) macroenvironmental factors that can impact the development of Oasis @ Outram day hospice or other elderly day care centres in Singapore.
You are expected to discuss two (2) trends per factor. If you prefer to limit your discussion to one (1) trend for one or both factors, then you are expected to elaborate in much greater detail.
(20 marks)

(b) Examine two (2) typical customer profiles of the target market for Oasis @ Outram day hospice or similar elderly day care centres. You are required to use a combination of variables from demographic, psychographic and behavioural bases to portray each target customer segment.
(18 marks)

(c) Based on the concept of the distinctive characteristics of services, analyse how inseparability and perishability could apply to Oasis@Outram day hospice.

Question 1 Day hospice at Outram Community Hospital has spa, mahjong room to reshape palliative care perceptions In this Oasis, life is celebrated in the face of death, so there are treats such as a mahjong and board games room, a spa and a bar with a weekly happy hour. The newly launched Oasis@Outram day hospice also has Instagram-worthy decor, an in-house cinema with plush seats and horticulture and baking sessions, in a bid to change perceptions of the end-of-life stage and palliative care. The approximately 900 sq m space - about the size of two basketball courts - at Outram Community Hospital is the result of a partnership between HCA Hospice Care and the philanthropic Lien Foundation, which contributed $2.47 million. This facility, HCA's third centre, aims to offer something different from its other centres, where patients can choose from a range of activities at any given time. Access is free for patients referred by HCA who have life-limiting illnesses such as cancer or organ failure, with a prognosis of one year or less. It is also open to paediatric patients under HCA's Star Pals programme, which aims to improve the quality of life for children and minors up to age 19 who have life-threatening or life-limiting ailments such as neurological or congenital conditions or childhood cancers. Mr Gabriel Lim, programme director of Lien Foundation, said: "In spaces run by charities, functionality is often prioritized over design. But well-designed spaces can sometimes bring healing and dignity when human companions can't, especially for social-emotional challenges. We hope Oasis @Outram inspires the design of similar facilities in the future." The hospice care provider is hoping that through the use of new conversational tools developed by The Care Lab, it can help patients grow and develop, and facilitate difficult but important end-of-life conversations. For example, a Wheel of Life tool allows patients to move physical nodules along the scales on the board to reflect how satisfied they are in different aspects of their life and determine which areas they want to improve. For Madam Lee Ah Moy, 83, who has been visiting Oasis @Outram thrice a week, she said that the place is more open and spacious, and she enjoys the activities such as arts and crafts - she was cutting Christmas-themed patterns during a media tour - and has made friends with other visitors to the facility. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2019. HCA chief executive Angeline Wee said the hospice care provider is committed to blazing new trails in palliative care and wants to add life to the days of its patients. She added: "We want our patients to be able to do what they want, when they want and feel the dignity that they so deserve." (Adapted for academic purposes from The Straits Times, page B2, 2 Dec 2021)