The report shows that more than 10% of the elderly are unable to take care of themselves and rely on comprehensive care
Who is caring for the disabled and semi-disabled elderly
● The report shows that 4.8% of the elderly are severely disabled in their daily activities, 7% are in a moderately disabled state, and the total disability rate is 11.8%.
In other words, more than 10% of the elderly cannot completely take care of themselves in basic life such as dressing, eating, bathing, and toileting.
● With the rapid aging of our country’s population, the rapid increase in the number of disabled and demented populations, the rapid growth in demand for care and the changes in family structure, long-term care policy choices and system design to resolve risks have no time to delay
● After the establishment of the long-term care insurance system, at least in terms of financing for the elderly, it can relieve the elderly’s worries and enable them to enjoy a decent, dignified and quality life
□ Our reporter Zhao Li
□ Intern Xing Yiming
Without any signs, the 63-year-old Ms. Ye suddenly fell ill.
Ms. Ye lives in Chaoyang District, Beijing. She has a history of high blood pressure and diabetes. She originally planned to help her daughter look after her second child, but before her daughter gave birth, she was admitted to the hospital because of a sudden cerebral infarction.
There are not many elderly people like Ms. Ye who fall suddenly and suffer from strokes (cerebral hemorrhage or cerebral thrombosis) due to chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and eventually physical disabilities.
Statistics show that there are more than 253 million elderly people over 60 years old in my country, more than 180 million elderly people suffer from chronic diseases, 75% of them suffer from one or more chronic diseases, and approximately 42 million disabled and semi-disabled elderly people.
Yang Tuan, deputy director and researcher of the Social Policy Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that in the reality of my country’s rapid aging of the population, rapid increase in the disabled and demented population, rapid growth in demand for care and changes in family structure, long-term care policy options and The system design has no time to delay.
The elderly at home are completely disabled
Day and night caregiving pressure doubles
With the first bell ringing in the morning, Xu Ling (pseudonym), who lives in Songzhuang, Beijing, started a busy day.
In middle age, Xu Ling has to take care of her high school daughter on the one hand, and her father who has had a stroke at home on the other. Coupled with the economic downturn in the past two years, Xu Ling is under pressure.
When she opened her eyes in the morning, the first thing Xu Ling had to do was to come to the door of her father's room and see through the crack of the door that her father was still asleep, so she could safely prepare breakfast for the other family members.
Xu Ling's father has lost most of his ability to take care of himself since he suffered a stroke. Washing his face, brushing his teeth, eating, going to the toilet, and sleeping all need someone to look after him.
In the morning, you have to feed it bite by bite. The granular food is not easy to digest, so Xu Ling makes all liquid food, such as rice paste and pumpkin paste.
Before her father had a stroke, Xu Ling worked as a babysitter in a housekeeping company. Although she worked hard, the employer was still kind and would give a red envelope during the Chinese New Year.
My husband works in a food delivery company, and the combined income of the two is pretty decent.
Four years ago, his father suffering from cerebral thrombosis suddenly fainted when he went upstairs, and has not been able to stand up since.
At the beginning, the symptoms of his father's stroke were not very serious. When Xu Ling went to work, she entrusted the elderly to the care of her neighbors.
At that time, the old man's consciousness was still sober, in order not to drag the child, he sat in the wheelchair for a day.
After a long time, Xu Ling was embarrassed to let her father go to the neighbors again, so she installed a surveillance system at home, and she could see her father's movements through her mobile phone at any time.
But once, when her father fell off the wheelchair, Xu Ling felt terrified, so she hired a part-time job.
In the past two years, Xu Ling's father also showed some symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Sometimes he became angry when he was feeding, and the rice was spilled on clothes, tables, and chairs.
Xu Ling had no choice but to change the dirty clothes on her father and clean the house again.
After the father showed symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, he needed someone to accompany him 24 hours a day, and it was a big expense to hire an hourly worker.
Xu Ling discussed with her husband, and the two took advantage of the break at work to come back for a look. So Xu Ling began to ask her employer frequently for leave. After a long time, the employer was not happy, and later quit her.
Nowadays, Xu Ling can only choose part-time jobs, taking advantage of the gap in taking care of her father, doing hourly jobs to subsidize the family.
"The sickness of the elderly is for the family. Not only is the financial burden heavy, but also the spirit is always tight. I have to wake up several times a night to see if the elderly is sleeping well. I have suffered a little nervous breakdown in the past two years. I feel a little bit tired and don't feel anything. The key is to be very sorry for the child." Xu Ling couldn't help crying every time he talked about the child.
A reporter from the "Rule of Law Daily" learned that many families have this feeling. Once there are elderly people who cannot take care of themselves, they will immediately become short of manpower, financial pressure will increase, and work will be affected. Although they do their best to take care of them, they are unprofessional. The quality of life is not high.
Elderly paralysis rehabilitation treatment
Cost money and effort to fight a protracted war
The father of Zhao Liang (pseudonym), a Beijing citizen, has improved after undergoing rehabilitation treatment. Now he can slowly walk to the gate of the community with his tricycle alone.
Seventeen years ago, Zhao Liang's father went out to ride a motorcycle with a friend. On the way back, the motorcycle rolled into a ditch, causing his body to become paralyzed.
In order to take care of the elderly, Zhao Liang could not remember how many jobs he had changed.
For a period of time, the more the location changed, the lower the salary.
"At that time, it was particularly difficult and stressful at work. I was annoyed by the old man when I returned home. Once the old man loses his ability to take care of himself, he needs to be around all the time. In addition to taking care of his life, he must be massaged and talked frequently. So taking care of the disabled elderly is not as simple as feeding and washing clothes. In the few years when I just fell ill and couldn't take care of myself at all, I suffered from insomnia and anxiety every day. The financial pressure was also great, and there was no light in life.” Recalling that time Zhao Liang was fortunate that his mother and wife could still take care of them.
When his father was lying in bed and unable to move, no matter how tired he was at work, the first thing Zhao Liang did when he returned home was to roll over and rub his body for his father.
"Hemiplegia is the one who is most afraid of bedsores. I heard a patient's family member in the hospital say that an elderly man with hemiplegia was left unattended at home all day, and in the end his body was so bad. I made up my mind after hearing this. We must insist on turning over and rubbing my father's body. The key is that no one but me at home can turn my father over." When it came to this, Zhao Liang smiled embarrassedly.
"Patients actually need sunshine the most. You have to show him the grandpa playing chess and dancing in the park, so that he can feel the vitality of the elderly of the same age, which is good for his recovery. "Therefore, every Saturday and Sunday when he is free, Zhao Liang will push his father downstairs in the community or nearby parks to bask in the sun.
Zhao Liang's father tried various methods such as massage therapy and neuromuscular electrical stimulation in the early stage of his illness. Later, he began to perform sitting training and turn-over training. Now he can walk slowly with his tricycle alone.
Beijing citizen Liu Jing's family is also working hard on the road to rehabilitation.
"Slow down, slow down." Every Saturday morning, Liu Jing and her husband would take their father to the hospital for acupuncture.
The difficulty is that the building in the house is in an old community without an elevator. Every time, the husband is carrying his father. While holding the wheelchair, she and her husband stumbling downstairs from the fifth floor step by step.
Liu Jing and her husband are dual employees, and their family lives are relatively well-off.
My father used to be a primary school teacher. Since his illness, medical insurance has solved a large part of it, but the key is post-care.
"There is no one around the old man. We are not at ease, so we started to hire special caretakers. In fact, they are nanny and care workers, and the price is more expensive than ordinary nanny, but we are at ease, and this kind of care will be more comprehensive."
Because her father had a moderate stroke, the doctor said that there was a possibility of recovery, so Liu Jing went to seek medical advice for medicine, and finally found the rehabilitation center where she is now.
Every Saturday, Liu Jing will take her father to see a doctor unimpeded, and she usually goes with her husband.
Once her husband was too busy with work at the unit, she could only lift the wheelchair down by herself, and then supported her father's waist with one hand, while the other hand tightly pulled the father's arm and moved staggered down.
"After I sent the old man down by myself, I turned my head and looked at such a high building. I don't know where I got my strength. But it's actually quite dangerous. Looking back now, I'm still a little scared." Liu Jing said.
Since her father fell ill, Liu Jing’s personal savings have basically been spent on hiring babysitters and caregivers for the elderly. She rarely has personal free time anymore. “In the past, Saturday and Sunday, I used to go shopping with friends and colleagues. After my father fell ill, I seldom go out for the weekend and spend time with the elderly at home."
Services provided by spouse of children
The proportion of maintenance centers is not high
The China Insurance Industry Association and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences recently jointly issued the "2018-2019 China Long-Term Care Survey Report", which shows that after a survey of elderly people aged 60 and over and adults aged 30 to 59 in some pilot cities for long-term care insurance It is found that 65 years old is an important turning point for the elderly facing the risk of disability.
The report shows that 4.8% of the elderly are severely disabled in their daily activities, 7% are in a moderately disabled state, and the total disability rate is 11.8%.
In other words, more than 10% of the elderly cannot completely take care of themselves in the basic life of dressing, eating, bathing, and going to the toilet.
The decline of basic self-care ability is also accompanied by the decline of independent living ability. 25.4% of the elderly need comprehensive care.
The "little" old people taking care of the "old" old people is a true portrayal of many disabled families today.
Children, spouses, and nanny are the main force in providing services, and third-party agency services account for a small proportion.
In a nursing center for the elderly rebuilt from a hospital in Beijing, a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily learned that the nursing center can provide nursing staff at home or directly arrange for the elderly to stay in the nursing center throughout the year.
The price of staying in the nursing center is divided into two parts, one part is the nursing expenses of the elderly, and the other part is the medical expenses of the elderly.
The nursing center can provide nursing care for the disabled elderly, bedridden elderly, and elderly elderly with different physical conditions. The basic nursing expenses are more than 10,000 yuan per month.
A staff member of the nursing center said that the total disability accounted for the majority of the elderly in the nursing center. “Total disability requires round-the-clock care. Many families can't do this, so they simply send the elderly to the nursing center. The nursing center can also provide it. With medical services, the elderly can see a doctor in time for any physical condition without delaying treatment."
A carer revealed that among the elderly she is in charge of nursing, most of the family members will come to visit and talk to the elderly.
There are also very few families who never see people again after sending the elderly, but can pay the fees on time.
Subsequently, a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily contacted a service organization that provides door-to-door care for the elderly who cannot take care of themselves.
According to the service staff of the agency, there are thousands of customers who buy the service every day. Most of them are employees of the unit who have to work at a fixed time. It is inconvenient to ask for leave and worry that the elderly are at home alone.
For the elderly with different physical conditions, this service organization will send different care workers to provide corresponding services. The charging standards are divided according to the physical conditions and service levels of the elderly.