Zhuhai-Australia cooperation explores new models of elderly care services
Macau has a large elderly population and high demand for elderly care services.
According to statistics from the Bureau of Statistics and Census of the Macau Special Administrative Region Government, as of 2020, the total population of Macau is 683,100, with 12.9% of the population aged 65 and above, and a population aging index of 97.1%.
Zhuhai, Guangdong and Macau are geographically adjacent, and the residents of the two places have frequent exchanges, which promotes the cooperation between Macau and Zhuhai in the elderly care service industry, which can not only extend Macau’s superior resources and rich experience in professional nursing to Zhuhai, enrich and develop it. The elderly care service industry in the two places can provide a large number of employment opportunities for Zhuhai and Macao, and improve the level of social development in the two places.
Enterprises and institutions in related industries in the two places have taken action one after another to actively explore new models of elderly care services in Zhuhai and Macao.
Convenient for Macau residents to provide for the elderly in Zhuhai
Not long ago, the Guangdong Office of the Federation of Macau Neighbourhood Associations and Zhuhai Zhengyuan Elderly Service Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation agreement at the Smart Home Elderly Service Center in Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai.
It is mentioned that the two parties will establish a comprehensive partnership in home care services, social work training, consulting services, public welfare activities, health knowledge lectures, psychological comfort, volunteer services and undertaking government projects, and will establish a comprehensive partnership in Wanchai Street Home Care Service Center As a demonstration point of cooperation, we will jointly promote the improvement of the service quality and level of Macao's elderly for the elderly in the Pearl River Delta.
Wu Xiaoli, president of the Federation of Macau Neighbourhood Associations, told reporters that Macau is densely populated and narrow, and resources for the elderly have always been in short supply.
Zhuhai Xiangzhou, with its good ecological environment and geographical advantages, has attracted many Macao elderly people to choose to stay here for the elderly. Nearly 100 Macao elderly people live in Wan Chai alone.
After the signing of the cooperation agreement, they will take the opportunity of serving these elderly people to explore a new model of elderly care in Zhuhai and Macao.
“Macao elderly living in Wan Chai will be included in the service scope of the Xiangzhou District Smart Home Elderly Service Center, and enjoy the emergency rescue, life care, spiritual comfort and other services we provide.” said Chen Xin, general manager of Zhuhai Zhengyuan Holdings. The cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao continues to deepen, and the company will usher in a larger market and more opportunities in the future.
Zhao Weimin, director of the Civil Affairs Bureau of Zhuhai Xiangzhou District, said that there are more than 900 elderly people from Hong Kong and Macao in Zhuhai, most of whom live in Xiangzhou District.
The inclusion of some Macao elderly living and living in Xiangzhou into the scope of services has added another layer of special significance to the Xiangzhou District Smart Home Elderly Service Center, which has become the implementation of the "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan Outline" and facilitates Macao residents in Zhuhai. The specific practice of old-age care.
Learn from Macau's elderly care service industry model
Thanks to good medical conditions and old-age security, the average life expectancy of Macao residents has reached 84.5 years, which is among the highest in the world.
The Macao Special Administrative Region government attaches great importance to the security of the elderly. In addition to monthly pensions and annual cash sharing, retirement pensions, and special allocations from the Central Provident Fund, the Macao Special Administrative Region government also provides targeted services for the elderly in different living conditions. Services, including the establishment of centers to assist the elderly with dementia, and "Ping An Tong" services for elderly living alone and dual-elders, etc., and proposed including "medical society services", "rights protection", "social participation", and "living environment". The “Policy Framework for the Macao Special Administrative Region’s Old-age Security Mechanism” consists of 14 areas, and the “Ten-Year Action Plan for Elderly Services from 2016 to 2025” composed of more than 400 specific measures.
These meticulous elderly care services and proven industrial models provide a good reference for Zhuhai to explore innovative service models and promote the coordinated development of elderly care services in the Greater Bay Area.
At the beginning of this year, a special charity event was held at the Zhuhai Gongbei Senior Citizens Service Center-the "Senior Life" charity event for the elderly living alone in Gongbei. This is one of the public welfare projects developed by the Gongbei Sub-district Party Working Committee and Office.
Volunteers delivered Spring Festival couplets and rice to the 93-year-old senior living alone Aunt Xu and 80-year-old retired veteran Cai Shu. They also provided services such as home cleaning, Spring Festival couplets, drug inspections, and nail trimming.
"Through early door-to-door visits and community visits, we learned about the basic conditions and service needs of the 50 elders living alone in the jurisdiction, and divided the elders into three levels of self-care, semi-self-care, and disability to provide aging services." The executive social worker of the "Senior Le Rongrong" project said that in the future, experts in the field of elderly care services from the Macau Federation of Trade Unions will be invited to Zhuhai to carry out salon discussions, training and supervision, and introduce Macao’s community elderly service model to the Mainland to enrich and develop Zhuhai’s Elderly service industry.
Create a high-quality and efficient grid system
The "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan Outline" clearly states that Zhuhai and Macao will cooperate in the construction of an integrated livelihood project in Hengqin that integrates elderly care, housing, education, medical care and other functions.
Some experts and scholars have put forward constructive opinions on how to promote the deep cooperation and bold innovation of Zhuhai-Macao elderly care services.
The dean of Zhuhai People’s Hospital Lu Ligong believes that Zhuhai’s medical-care integration development model has the characteristics of small, scattered and miscellaneous. The next step is to actively build a high-quality and efficient medical-care-medicine grid system and improve the medical-care integration. related policy.
He suggested that the Hengqin Branch of Zhuhai People's Hospital should be used as a pilot unit to establish a demonstration base for the elderly in Zhuhai and Macao, and in-depth cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao.
The policy allows the introduction of international advanced drugs from Hong Kong and Macau to be used in Hengqin, coordinating to solve the multi-point practice problem of Hong Kong and Macau medical staff.
At the same time, it strives to create a “medical-care integration” model with Zhuhai characteristics with high efficiency and high quality, accumulate and promote development experience, and play a leading and demonstrative effect.
Previously, some experts suggested that based on the economic and industrial characteristics of Macau, Zhuhai, and Zhongshan, it is necessary and possible to establish a unified, collaborative, low-payment and high-return pension insurance system for the floating population.
Macau is close to Zhuhai and Zhongshan. The establishment of cooperative elderly care institutions in Zhuhai and Zhongshan can welcome more Macao compatriots to "return to their roots" when they are old; Integrate financial resources, strengthen the integration with modern technology according to the needs and consumption characteristics of the elderly, further improve the personalized design of products and services, expand the elderly care service industry into the elderly industry, and form a new economic growth point.
(Report from Macau, November 26th)
Mao Lei