Sunday, April 22, 2012
WHY WE NEED TO SUPPORT THE CARERS
We keep going on about it, but we at Miranda Smith Homecare believe that early intervention and the help of one on one care improves the likelihood of dementia clients staying at home longer.
We also believe that if we invest more into family/non-paid caregivers they will help reduce government or state spending:
The following quote was reported by AP from Dr Shekhar Saxena of the World Health Organisation:
“And rich countries should reconsider the drive to place dementia patients in institutions," said Saxena. "That's a mistake that some developed countries have made that is neither financially viable nor providing the best care," he said.
To Saxena, the increasing rate of dementia is a "paradox" of medical progress. "The better we do, the more we expect to have problems with dementia and we need to be prepared for that."
The following passage is taken from the World Health Organisation's report: A Public Health Priority.
Dementia has an immense impact on the lives of the family, and particularly the person who takes the primary role in providing care. Most care is provided by family and other informal support systems in the community and most caregivers are women. However, changing population demographics may reduce the availability of informal caregivers in the future.
The provision of care to a person with dementia can result in significant strain for those who provide most of that care. The stressors are physical, emotional and economic. A range of programmes and services have been developed in high-income countries to assist family caregivers and to reduce strain. The beneficial effects of caregiver interventions in decreasing the institutionalisation of the care recipient have been clearly demonstrated.
Evidence from LMIC also suggests that home-based support for caregivers of persons with dementia, emphasizing the use of locally-available low-cost human resources, is feasible, acceptable and leads to significant improvements in caregiver mental health, and in the burden of caring.
Despite evidence of effectiveness, there have been no successful examples of scale-up in any of the health systems in which the evaluative research has been conducted.
Support is needed to enable informal caregivers to be able to continue in their role for as long as possible. Support includes information to aid understanding, skills to assist in caring, respite to enable engagement in other activities, and financial support.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Elderly care worries become more acute
THE FOLLOWING IS AN INTERESTING OPINION PIECE ON CHINA'S RAPIDLY AGEING POPULATION, AN ISSUE WHICH IS THROWING UP SOME BIG CHALLENGES THERE AND THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE DEVELOPED WORLD.
By Geoffrey Murray www.china.org.cn
A recent report on the shortage of nursing home beds for the elderly in China is a prime example of how the country's rapidly ageing population has become a major financial and social issue.
When I first came to Beijing in 1990, I was highly impressed by the way the city's senior citizens were encouraged to remain active members of society, and not shut away in a grim "old people's home," as is the norm in my native home of England.
One could see large groups of senior citizens dancing, practicing qigong, sword play, playing chess, bringing their songbirds out for a walk in the park and enjoying quality time with their children and grandchildren. I'd hate to see this tradition abate in the face of fiscal austerity, yet economic realities seem to be eroding China's image as a "paradise for the old."
A report delivered to last month's annual session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) said the country is now facing the biggest and most rapid age shift in world history. This is due to improvements in life expectancy and a declining birth rate. China only has 3.15 million nursing home beds, representing less than two percent of the nation's retirees.
This would not necessarily be a problem if most senior citizens were healthy enough to look after themselves or have family to take on the responsibility once the debilitating effects of old age manifest. However, one can no longer make this assumption.
In my opinion, the best approach is epitomized by Beijing City's 12th Five-Year Plan, setting a target of 90 percent of the elderly receiving care at home through improved social services by 2020; six percent staying with community centers supported by the government; and four percent in nursing homes where their condition demands more intensive care.
As I age I want to stay clear of institutionalized care at any cost. At the same time, I am anxious about the prospects of loneliness if I am cut off from regular contact with society in my own home. Yet, whether one stays at home or moves into a "home," there's a question of cost. Private homes for the elderly do exist in China, but they're prohibitively expensive. That's also the experience in Britain, where much of the care is in private hands, is nothing other than a profit-seeking business like any other.
I have personal experience with private nursing homes, beginning some years ago when my late father suffered his first stroke. There is great demand for hospital beds, and after doctors determined they were unable to do anything further for him medically, my mother reluctantly agreed to move him into a private nursing home.
The owner of the nursing home painted a glowing picture of the loving care he would receive, but the opposite was true. Inmates were stuck in a single room all day, with nothing to do but stare at the television screen and sleep. The neglect was so complete that two hours past before anyone noticed one man was not dozing but was dead! Poor George – his children had placed him in the home but never came to visit him, handling everything regarding administrative matters such as payments to the home through their lawyer! We moved my father out the next day.
Staying at home can be no better. A UK charity reported: "Thousands of elderly people die alone in their homes every year without being noticed, and increasing numbers spend their final years in abject isolation. Britain's ageing population is "losing the will to live" through a lack of personal contact with friends or visitors."
A study of the social isolation of senior citizens in New York stated: "More than three million people in the United States need help from another person in order to remain living 'independently' in their own homes. Without this help, many of these elderly and disabled individuals face going hungry, falling, or experiencing other problems that could increase the risk of institutionalization and death."
Regular reading of the Chinese media shows that such problems also occur in this country, and may become worse with the break-up of the "nuclear family" and development of the "empty nest" phenomenon. This subsequent urban renewal results in the elderly being forced to move to remote new suburbs far from their "roots."
China long nursed the concept of filial piety and respect for the aged through Confucianism. Today, studies show that instead of retirees being able to rely on support from their children, they often have to supply it – whether in monetary terms or babysitting duties.
Hopefully the country can keep alive old traditions as the ageing population expands. But it's going to be terribly expensive – in providing home care facilities, subsidizing families willing but financially unable to provide support, community programs for social integration, medical care and – as a final resort – state-financed or subsidized nursing homes.
The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/geoffreymurray.htm
By Geoffrey Murray www.china.org.cn
A recent report on the shortage of nursing home beds for the elderly in China is a prime example of how the country's rapidly ageing population has become a major financial and social issue.
When I first came to Beijing in 1990, I was highly impressed by the way the city's senior citizens were encouraged to remain active members of society, and not shut away in a grim "old people's home," as is the norm in my native home of England.
One could see large groups of senior citizens dancing, practicing qigong, sword play, playing chess, bringing their songbirds out for a walk in the park and enjoying quality time with their children and grandchildren. I'd hate to see this tradition abate in the face of fiscal austerity, yet economic realities seem to be eroding China's image as a "paradise for the old."
A report delivered to last month's annual session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) said the country is now facing the biggest and most rapid age shift in world history. This is due to improvements in life expectancy and a declining birth rate. China only has 3.15 million nursing home beds, representing less than two percent of the nation's retirees.
This would not necessarily be a problem if most senior citizens were healthy enough to look after themselves or have family to take on the responsibility once the debilitating effects of old age manifest. However, one can no longer make this assumption.
In my opinion, the best approach is epitomized by Beijing City's 12th Five-Year Plan, setting a target of 90 percent of the elderly receiving care at home through improved social services by 2020; six percent staying with community centers supported by the government; and four percent in nursing homes where their condition demands more intensive care.
As I age I want to stay clear of institutionalized care at any cost. At the same time, I am anxious about the prospects of loneliness if I am cut off from regular contact with society in my own home. Yet, whether one stays at home or moves into a "home," there's a question of cost. Private homes for the elderly do exist in China, but they're prohibitively expensive. That's also the experience in Britain, where much of the care is in private hands, is nothing other than a profit-seeking business like any other.
I have personal experience with private nursing homes, beginning some years ago when my late father suffered his first stroke. There is great demand for hospital beds, and after doctors determined they were unable to do anything further for him medically, my mother reluctantly agreed to move him into a private nursing home.
The owner of the nursing home painted a glowing picture of the loving care he would receive, but the opposite was true. Inmates were stuck in a single room all day, with nothing to do but stare at the television screen and sleep. The neglect was so complete that two hours past before anyone noticed one man was not dozing but was dead! Poor George – his children had placed him in the home but never came to visit him, handling everything regarding administrative matters such as payments to the home through their lawyer! We moved my father out the next day.
Staying at home can be no better. A UK charity reported: "Thousands of elderly people die alone in their homes every year without being noticed, and increasing numbers spend their final years in abject isolation. Britain's ageing population is "losing the will to live" through a lack of personal contact with friends or visitors."
A study of the social isolation of senior citizens in New York stated: "More than three million people in the United States need help from another person in order to remain living 'independently' in their own homes. Without this help, many of these elderly and disabled individuals face going hungry, falling, or experiencing other problems that could increase the risk of institutionalization and death."
Regular reading of the Chinese media shows that such problems also occur in this country, and may become worse with the break-up of the "nuclear family" and development of the "empty nest" phenomenon. This subsequent urban renewal results in the elderly being forced to move to remote new suburbs far from their "roots."
China long nursed the concept of filial piety and respect for the aged through Confucianism. Today, studies show that instead of retirees being able to rely on support from their children, they often have to supply it – whether in monetary terms or babysitting duties.
Hopefully the country can keep alive old traditions as the ageing population expands. But it's going to be terribly expensive – in providing home care facilities, subsidizing families willing but financially unable to provide support, community programs for social integration, medical care and – as a final resort – state-financed or subsidized nursing homes.
The author is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/geoffreymurray.htm
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
PLAN URGENTLY NEEDED FOR AGEING POPULATION
With the budget approaching, the Government urgently needs to start thinking smart about the future of aged care, says a national home care agency.
New Zealand is experiencing rapid and prolonged growth in the elderly population, a situation which is putting pressure on health and long-term care budgets.
Miranda Smith Homecare managing director Miranda Smith says a comprehensive plan is needed to tackle the problem, and that includes ramping up support for the non-paid carers whose work saves the country huge amounts of money.
The NZ Carers Alliance of 45 national not for profits is also lobbying the Government for greater support.
Meanwhile, an Auditor-General report released last year on home-based care talked about how effective home-based support services could delay or avoid a person’s admission to a rest home, reducing the cost of their care to a fraction of what it would otherwise be.
It also says elderly generally prefer to live at home, even when restricted by age and affected by disabilities.
While some of the spotlight was on dementia care in last year’s budget, and a provision was made for extra dementia beds, continuing down that path is not a long term solution, Ms Smith says.
She says elderly should be able to expect state assistance, but there will be an increased requirement for individuals and families to ensure they do all they can to provide for themselves in their twilight years.
“People should be able to expect a basic level of state care, but it is becoming a reality that there is only so much taxpayer money to go around, and some of the financial burden has to fall on the individuals.”
Ms Smith says, however, there needs to be more support from governments for the people who make huge sacrifices to look after ageing family members, in some instances putting their own health at risk.
“These people are saving the country huge amounts of money, and to keep encouraging them, their efforts must be rewarded - and health maintained - through more access to government-funded respite care.”
The NZ Carers Alliance of 45 national not for profits is lobbying for greater support for the country’s 420,000-plus family carers at www.wecare.org.nz
The alliance is asking Prime Minister John Key to take an interest on the role and needs of family carers.
Auditor-General manager Gary Emery recently told a Parliamentary select committee that demand for elderly care was increasing, yet there was no obvious plan to deal with it.
"There needs to be a collaborative approach between the ministry, the district health boards and providers”, he said.
New Zealand is experiencing rapid and prolonged growth in the elderly population, a situation which is putting pressure on health and long-term care budgets.
Miranda Smith Homecare managing director Miranda Smith says a comprehensive plan is needed to tackle the problem, and that includes ramping up support for the non-paid carers whose work saves the country huge amounts of money.
The NZ Carers Alliance of 45 national not for profits is also lobbying the Government for greater support.
Meanwhile, an Auditor-General report released last year on home-based care talked about how effective home-based support services could delay or avoid a person’s admission to a rest home, reducing the cost of their care to a fraction of what it would otherwise be.
It also says elderly generally prefer to live at home, even when restricted by age and affected by disabilities.
While some of the spotlight was on dementia care in last year’s budget, and a provision was made for extra dementia beds, continuing down that path is not a long term solution, Ms Smith says.
She says elderly should be able to expect state assistance, but there will be an increased requirement for individuals and families to ensure they do all they can to provide for themselves in their twilight years.
“People should be able to expect a basic level of state care, but it is becoming a reality that there is only so much taxpayer money to go around, and some of the financial burden has to fall on the individuals.”
Ms Smith says, however, there needs to be more support from governments for the people who make huge sacrifices to look after ageing family members, in some instances putting their own health at risk.
“These people are saving the country huge amounts of money, and to keep encouraging them, their efforts must be rewarded - and health maintained - through more access to government-funded respite care.”
The NZ Carers Alliance of 45 national not for profits is lobbying for greater support for the country’s 420,000-plus family carers at www.wecare.org.nz
The alliance is asking Prime Minister John Key to take an interest on the role and needs of family carers.
Auditor-General manager Gary Emery recently told a Parliamentary select committee that demand for elderly care was increasing, yet there was no obvious plan to deal with it.
"There needs to be a collaborative approach between the ministry, the district health boards and providers”, he said.
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