The infusion of funds for the elderly is government’s answer to appeals such as this one on April 8 at Government House calling for state income support for the aged. (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)
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Health authorities are bolstering elderly care in communities across the country after the government injected 600 million baht in extra funding.
The fund allocation, approved by the cabinet, will top up the Universal Coverage scheme (the so-called gold card scheme) aimed at helping communities nationwide.
Its focus is to ensure better care for old people, especially those who are “home and bed-dependent”, permanent secretary for public health Sophon Mekthon said.
The biggest portion of the money will go to 1,000 nationwide municipalities which will spend it on medical bills for the elderly, he said.
Each of them will have their treatment and care expenses covered by the annual 5,000-baht medical welfare plan.
The rest of the budget will be distributed to community hospitals in 1,000 districts. Part of the money will be used to support training programmes for people who volunteer as carers in their villages, Dr Sophon said.
Sophon: will evaluate results in mid-2016
The training will be jointly carried out by local administrative bodies and the National Health Security Office, which offers free medical care to people registered under the Universal Coverage scheme.
The volunteer carers must be qualified and work closely with care managers, who are public health officials or nurses under the scheme, Dr Sophon said.
“In the middle of this year, we will evaluate the outcomes,” he said.
Some municipalities have begun work on the scheme and it is going smoothly, Dr Sophon said.
One example is tambon Bang Si Thong municipality in Nonthaburi. Its work is being supported by a team of experts in various medical fields and its elderly care centre, he said.
Meanwhile, Department of Health Service Support director-general Boonruang Triruangworawat said the number of people aged 60 and over in Thailand now stands at about 10 million, or 15% of the population.
Citing the results of a recent survey, he said 8.7% or about 870,000 have been left to stay alone at home.
Dr Boonruang said the figures came from a 2014 survey by the National Statistical Office.
“The information indicated Thailand is entering an ageing society as more than 10% of the population are seniors,” he said.
The number of Thai elders left alone at home has doubled over the past 20 years due to various reasons such as elders’ spouses dying and distance from family members.
Dr Boonruang said health check-ups offered to more than six million elders last year by the Ministry of Public Health revealed 1.3 million out of six million senior citizens have a tendency not to leave home.
This means they may be left to stay at home alone.
Some elderly people are limited by their health and cannot look after themselves or leave their beds without a helping hand. They face the risk of further health problems, depression, and financial worries, he said.
Nakhon Ratchasima has the most elderly with 423,934 seniors, with Khon Kaen the runner-up with 292,217 seniors, and Chiang Mai ranked as number three with 274,331 seniors as reported by the NSO in 2014.
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This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.