Improving health care for the elderly
Print Edition
Chen Jinshun, 93, has pneumonia and lives in a nursing home in Changning District. It’s an exhausting process to get treatment when she becomes ill.
Her daughters come to the nursing home and call an ambulance to take her to a hospital. Then the real waiting begins — to register, see a doctor, take different tests, show test results to the doctor and finally buy some medicine.
“Spending hours to see a doctor is very tiring for us, not to mention my sick mother. I feel very sorry to see her spending so much energy when she is already so weak,” says Laura Jin, Chen’s daughter.
Nursing homes have limited medical resources compared to those in other countries and are often not equipped to provide professional treatment.
But things are improving.
The Changning Social Welfare Home where Chen lives signed a contract on August 13 with Chengjiaqiao Community Health Service Center. The deal means the nursing home’s patients will receive better and more convenient medical services.
Aging population
China faces challenges as the population ages. According to the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, from 2005 to 2010, the population of senior citizens over 60 years old increases by 100,000 every year. While from 2010 to 2020, there will be a net increase of 170,000 people of seniors annually. It is estimated that by the end of 2050, there will be 438 million seniors in China.
A survey by the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau conducted a few years ago shows that elderly men visit hospitals more frequently. And 72.6 percent of seniors surveyed said they don’t like having to travel so far for treatment.
“Taking care of elderly men means helping with their living needs, providing psychological consulting and, of course, medical services,” psychologist William Duan tells Shanghai Daily.
Lectures and TCM
Changning District is now dedicated to combining care for elderly men with effective medical treatment. Chengjiaqiao Community Health Service Center took an important step.
The center creates a health record for each Changning Social Welfare Home patient and provides quick medical services. Doctors from the service center will also visit the nursing home to provide medical treatments.
Health lectures and traditional Chinese medicine services for seniors will also be provided by the health center.
A few months ago, an elderly woman surnamed Yu broke her back. Since she couldn’t get proper rehabilitation treatment at the welfare home, Yu was sent to the medical center. She has since recovered and is now back in the nursery home.
Jin says she is happy about the partnership with the health center.
“I was very excited to learn about it. The day when my mother won’t become overwhelmingly stressed and at loss when seeking treatment has finally come,” Jin says.
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