HomeWise › Caregiver Guides › Hip Fracture Recovery Equipment
Coming HomeUpdated August 2026 · 7 min read
A hip fracture usually gives a family about a week of warning. Your parent is in hospital, a discharge date appears, and suddenly you are meant to know what a home needs to look like for someone who cannot bend, twist or bear full weight. This page covers the equipment, what it costs, and which parts the government pays for.
This is a practical equipment guide, not medical advice. Every hip operation comes with its own movement restrictions and recovery timeline. Follow what your parent's surgeon and physiotherapist tell you — they know the specific repair. Use this page for the shopping and the subsidies.
If you only do three things
1. Ask the ward for an occupational therapy home assessment before discharge. It is free through the hospital and it unlocks the subsidies.
2. Get the raised toilet seat and the grab bars in place before your parent comes home, not after.
3. Apply for SMF before buying anything. It does not reimburse purchases made before approval.
Most of this list exists for one reason: after hip surgery, bending and twisting are restricted, and the everyday movements that used to be automatic — sitting on a toilet, getting out of bed, washing a foot — become the risky ones.
| Item | Why it matters | Subsidised? | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raised toilet seat | Getting on and off a standard toilet bends the hip past the angle many surgeons restrict after surgery. | Yes, under SMF | Before discharge |
| Grab bars — toilet and shower | Gives something solid to push up from. Must be wall-fixed, never suction. | EASE, or SMF as a device | Before discharge |
| Walking frame or rollator | The physiotherapist will specify which. Do not guess between them. | Yes, under SMF | Before discharge |
| Shower chair | Standing through a shower is unrealistic in early recovery. | Yes, under SMF | Before discharge |
| Bed rail or bed assist handle | Getting in and out of bed is where many second falls happen. | Yes, under SMF | Before discharge |
| Long-handled reacher and sponge | Removes the need to bend for dropped items or to wash the lower leg. | Sometimes | First week |
| Non-slip mats | Bathroom floor and beside the bed. | Not usually | Before discharge |
| Firm chair with armrests | A low sofa is very hard to rise from. Often you already own something suitable. | No | Before discharge |
The physiotherapist should specify the walking aid. A frame and a rollator suit different stages of recovery, and choosing the wrong one slows things down.
Bought privately, this list runs a few hundred dollars. Through the subsidies, most families pay a fraction of it.
AIC SMF covers up to 90% of approved devices — walking frames, raised toilet seats, shower chairs, commodes, bed rails. At the top subsidy tier, a basic wheelchair costing around S$300 comes down to roughly S$30 out of pocket. Open to Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents aged 60 and above, with household income of S$4,800 or less per person.
HDB EASE covers grab bars fitted into the flat, and it is much cheaper than buying and installing them yourself. HDB households pay only 5% to 12.5%, which puts a first set of eight to ten grab bars at S$26.15 to S$52.30 depending on flat type. Private properties use EASE (Private) through BCA, where the same first set costs S$130.80 against S$1,200 in vouchers.
Start the paperwork while they are still in hospital
AIC takes up to 15 working days to process a complete SMF application, and will not reimburse anything bought before approval. A discharge date a week away means starting now. Ask the ward's medical social worker — this is exactly what they are there for.
While your parent is still admitted, an occupational therapy home assessment is usually straightforward to arrange through the ward, and it does two jobs at once. It tells you what their specific home needs — not a generic list — and it produces the report that supports the SMF application.
Ask the medical social worker or the ward doctor. If discharge is close, say so; it moves things along. Our guide to OT assessment costs covers the other routes if the hospital cannot arrange it in time.
Highest risk in the house. Wall-fixed grab bars beside the toilet and in the shower, a raised toilet seat, a shower chair, non-slip matting. Never use suction-cup grab bars for weight bearing — they release without warning, and this is precisely the person who cannot afford a second fall.
Getting in and out of bed is where many second falls happen. A bed rail or bed assist handle gives something to push against. Clear the route from bed to toilet completely, and light it — a plug-in night light costs a few dollars and removes a real risk.
A low, soft sofa is very hard to rise from with a healing hip. A firm chair with armrests at a comfortable height is often something you already own from another room. Remove loose rugs and tape down cables along the walking route.
The core set is a raised toilet seat, wall-fixed grab bars in the toilet and shower, a walking frame or rollator specified by the physiotherapist, a shower chair, and a bed rail. Most of it should be in place before they come home, not ordered afterwards.
Yes. AIC SMF covers up to 90% of approved devices including walking frames, raised toilet seats, shower chairs, commodes and bed rails, for Singapore Citizens and PRs aged 60 and above who meet the means test. Grab bars fitted into an HDB flat go through HDB EASE instead, where households pay only 5% to 12.5%.
Start while your parent is still in hospital. SMF requires assessment and approval before purchase and AIC takes up to 15 working days to process, so waiting until discharge day means paying full price or going without.
Lowering onto a standard toilet bends the hip further than many surgeons allow in early recovery. A raised seat reduces that angle. Your parent's surgeon or physiotherapist will give the specific restrictions for their operation — follow those, not general advice.
Tell HomeWise the situation and the discharge date. It suggests the specific products, checks which subsidies apply, and shows what you will pay after them.
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