Regarding the "visit bathing" long-term care service, in which specialized staff support bathing at home, three offices in Kanazawa have to accept new usage applications or limit them to people in areas that are easy to visit. I found that it was not in the state.
The background is that there is a shortage of staff personnel, but there are cases where ALS patients who have been refused use cannot take a bath for a long period of time, and securing human resources has become a serious issue.
"Visit bathing" is a nursing care service in which three or more specialized staff, such as nurses, visit the user's home and support bathing using a dedicated bathtub that can be carried around. It has become indispensable for the elderly and those with severe disabilities.
However, in Kanazawa City, it was found that all three offices in the city could not receive new usage applications, or the staff had to limit themselves to people in areas that were easy to visit. ..
Depending on the business establishment, the income earned from the long-term care insurance system has been limited, and while the service was provided by the last-minute personnel, the staff are retiring one after another.
Furthermore, since the spread of the new corona infection, the number of people who want to avoid treatment and long-term care at hospitals and facilities and use home-based services has increased, which has led to a tight system.
In the city, there are cases where ALS patients who have been refused use cannot take a bath for four weeks, and securing human resources has become a serious issue.
What is "visit bathing"?
The "visit bathing" service is different from the "visit nursing care" where one staff member visits the home, and the service is provided by a system of three or more nurses and long-term care staff.
Before taking a bath, a nurse measures the body temperature and blood pressure to check the health condition of the user on that day.
In a portable bathtub, the staff will talk to you and take time to wash your head, back, and feet.
It keeps the skin clean, improves blood circulation and relieves muscle and joint pain.
Most of the users are elderly people who need nursing care and people with severe disabilities.
A woman in Tsubata Town, Ishikawa Prefecture, whose son was seriously injured in a traffic accident and is using the visiting bathing service, said, "I can't get rid of the smell just by wiping my body, and in the summer I suffer from skin problems. On the night of the day I took a bath, my son was always sleeping soundly. "
Voices of people who need to use
In Kanazawa, people who need to use visiting bathing are greatly affected.
Toshiko Takahashi (48) was diagnosed with ALS, an intractable disease in which the muscles of the whole body gradually become immobile last October.
Last month, I returned home from the hospital and am living with the care of my husband and helpers.
Since the degree of disability is severe and it is difficult to take a bath with the assistance of my husband or helper, I applied for a home-visit bath through the care manager, but all of them were refused.
Mr. Takahashi had been discharged from the hospital for four weeks, but he could not take a bath even once and was suffering from itching of his body.
Mr. Takahashi said, "I contacted the office many times and received a reply that I could use the visiting bath once, but the day before, it was canceled because the staff retired. It's as important to be as clean as eating and excreting, and it's really hard to think that you won't be able to take a bath in the future. "
At the office of the home-visit bathing service
At "Oaks Life Care Kanazawa," a home-visit bathing service facility in Kanazawa, it seems that after the expansion of the new corona, "at home" was selected to avoid treatment and long-term care at hospitals and facilities. The use of elderly people overlapped.
Before the spread of the infection, the number of users, which had been around 100, increased to 140 as of last month, but two full-time staff members have recently retired one after another.
At present, we have had to decline the application for 10 new users sent since last month because we cannot establish a sufficient system.
However, even if you want to improve the treatment of staff or open new jobs, the amount of money that can be allocated to labor costs is limited.
Since the unit price of the long-term care fee for home-visit bathing is set in the form of "how much once", there is no addition even for those who take time to assist. It means that the service has been maintained in the form of compensating for the profits of.
Toshikatsu Nakajima of "Oaks Life Care Kanazawa" said, "In addition to not being able to raise treatment, it is difficult to secure human resources because the bathing work has a physically difficult image. Young people come in. If it's not a job like that, I feel that the future will be tough. "
Experts
Regarding the situation surrounding visiting bathing businesses, Professor Yasuhiro Yuki of Shukutoku University, who is familiar with the issue of long-term care, said, "It is quite difficult to operate a business at the current unit price of visiting bathing services, and wages are cheaper than in all industries. , It leads to a shortage of human resources. We should raise the nursing care fee to improve the treatment in the field, but it will increase the burden on the people, so it is necessary to form an agreement. "
In addition, out of 107 businesses that responded to a survey conducted by Professor Yuki on "home-visit nursing care" business establishments nationwide, 39 business establishments, which are close to 40%, "leaved or took leave due to the influence of the new corona. It seems that this situation is also accelerating the labor shortage at the site nationwide.
At the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, there are more than 1,600 home-visit bathing establishments nationwide as of December last year.
On the other hand, according to a survey conducted on the business situation, more than 40% of business establishments have a deficit, and management difficulties and labor shortages are spreading nationwide.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's Health and Welfare Bureau told the interview that "the number of business establishments is decreasing and the number of users of home-visit bathing care per business establishment is increasing. Cannot be denied. "