Our reporter Ye Xiaoyan Zhang Nan Wang Qipeng

　　Since 2016, the city has promoted the construction of community old-age service posts, and the number of posts has reached more than 1,000.

However, due to poor operation and management capabilities and weak hematopoietic capabilities, most of the pension stations are in a state of loss, and their development is not satisfactory.

Obviously it is a "sunrise industry", but why can't the elderly care station flourish?

　Difficult to operate

　　Nearly a hundred old people can feed a post

　　Near noon, the old-age post in Shuanghe Beili Community, Daxing District, began to deliver meals to the elderly who ordered meals.

A meal for the elderly with one meat, one vegetable, one soup, and one staple food is priced at 20 yuan and is delivered to your door free of charge.

"Today there are three elderly people ordering food." The person in charge of the station was a little helpless.

　　This inn has been rooted in the community for more than three years and has a very close relationship with the elderly.

The old man was uncomfortable, and the staff at the station came to call for an ambulance and carried the old man downstairs; the old man bought vegetables and couldn’t move, but the staff at the station helped to deliver them upstairs; the light bulb at the old man’s house was broken, and the staff at the station helped him to replace it. Light bulb... The staff introduces that these services are free of charge.

　　During the Respect for the Aged Month, many retirement posts in the city organized various activities.

It is free for the elderly to participate in activities, but for the post, the cost is real.

Take a paper-cutting activity as an example. Scissors, glue, paper, and teachers need to spend money.

Due to operating difficulties, the pension station had to "calculate carefully."

　　How much does it cost to "survive" an elderly care station?

The person in charge of a postal station calculated an account, including water and electricity, heating, labor costs, and activity costs. At least 200,000 yuan a year is required.

Among them, the salaries of the staff at the station accounted for nearly 70% of the total cost.

In an ideal state, the daily passenger flow must reach 70 or 80 people in order to "feed" an inn.

　　Such an account is calculated on the basis of the support of the "government providing facilities free of charge."

According to data from the Beijing Social Welfare Service Management Platform, from January to August this year, the service flow of 241 old-age post stations in the city showed zero, and the service flow of another 157 post stations was less than 100 person-times.

　Difficult to serve

　　Insufficient manpower and difficult business development

　　Since last year, the city has issued a series of documents to guide the elderly care station to focus on the basic elderly care service objects in the city, and accurately connect with the basic elderly care service objects through measures such as dividing the responsibility area and clarifying the responsibility list.

Based on the standard that each post station covers 200 to 300 basic elderly service objects, post stations are required to actively communicate, establish contacts, and promise services.

　　Responsibility scribing provides a relatively stable source of customers for the pension post.

However, the reporter visited a number of nursing homes and found that most nursing homes had only two or three staff members, and they were struggling to carry out daily work.

　　A person in charge of the station stated that the station could not add more staff due to cost issues.

The staff of the post station is limited, which is not conducive to the effective development of services, leading to poor service levels and forming a bad cycle.

The reporter found that many inns have a single service function and lack of professional service capabilities, making it difficult to meet the diversified and personalized needs of the elderly at home.

This situation is also not conducive to attracting talent.

A person in charge of the post said that the probation period for new employees was two months, and many people could not stand the intensity of the post and resigned after the probation period expired.

　　In the Beijing Regional Trial of the National Senior Care Vocational Skills Competition that ended last month, 20% of the 99 contestants came from senior care stations, but no one entered the finals.

Difficult to profit

　　Most elderly people don’t want to buy services

　　This year, in order to meet the dining needs of the elderly, the city has relied on the old-age post, and has achieved "acceleration" in the addition of food aids.

In some popular retirement posts, there are even scenes of elderly people queuing during peak dining hours.

An employee of an inn said that although there is a strong demand for meals for the elderly, in addition to attracting traffic to the inn, there is not much direct profit. In many cases, "you will have to pay a few dollars for selling a meal."

The reporter learned that the average price of an elderly meal is 20 yuan, and the profit margin is very limited.

Because there is no profit, catering companies are unwilling to deliver food to the station, and some even offer conditions for ordering 100 servings.

　　The reporter learned that in order to improve the quality of life of the elderly, the nursing subsidy for the disabled elderly can also be consumed in the elderly post, purchasing elderly care services, care supplies, and assistive devices.

However, compared to purchasing services, elderly people prefer to buy things, especially daily necessities.

In order to cater to the consumer psychology of the elderly, some old-age postal stations play a "side ball" and sell more and more miscellaneous things, turning them into "grocery shops."

According to relevant regulations, the main purpose of the subsidy is to allow disabled elderly people to enjoy professional nursing services.

　　A person in charge of the station told reporters that the elderly will only pay for just-needed needs, and the daily entertainment activities and health lectures provided by the station are almost impossible to make a profit.

"The elderly have not yet formed the consciousness of paying for the service. It is still difficult to stimulate the consumption of the silver-haired group."

　Expert advice

　　What is missing in the community

　　"We are now talking about the deepening of aging, but there are more people entering the age group of 60 years and above, and they have not yet reached the level of real elderly disability." Ma Naichi, founder of Beijing Fenghua Mutual Aid Resource Center for the Elderly, said that it is not As soon as a person enters old age, he needs to provide for the elderly.

Aging is a process of development, and the elderly care market also needs to be cultivated.

Judging from the current stage, it is a normal phenomenon that the pension post does not make money, and this is a process of social development.

　　Ma Naichi said that the old-age post needs to practice hard work and behave in a regular manner, and there should be no "bad money driving out good money".

Competent departments and the public need to be tolerant of the pension post on the basis of continued support.

"The old-age post must have the awareness of community governance. Each community has its own characteristics. The post must know what is lacking in the community, and then make up for it according to needs."

　　With regard to the problems of insufficient manpower and poor service capabilities at the pension post, Ma Naichi believes that we can try to introduce voluntary services.

Through the implementation of the "Time Bank" project in several elderly care inns operated by Fenghua Mutual Aid Resource Center for the Elderly, some elderly volunteers have been trained to reduce the pressure on the inns, and at the same time, volunteers have also obtained corresponding services, realizing a virtuous circle.