A law requiring the national and local governments to take necessary measures to support children and their families who need medical care, such as aspiration of tan and artificial respirators, was passed and passed at the plenary session of the House of Councilors on the 11th. ..

It is estimated that there are more than 20,000 "medical care children" who need sputum aspiration or artificial respiration on a daily basis due to intractable diseases or disabilities, and they are required to be accompanied by a guardian when they go to school. In some cases, you may not be able to take care of your child at a nursery school.



For this reason, it has been pointed out that there are issues such as giving up going on to higher education, limiting the places to go on to higher education, and forcing family members to leave their jobs.



A bipartisan bill to improve this situation was passed at the House of Councilors plenary session on the 11th, and was unanimously passed and passed.



The enacted law places the basic principle of being able to receive appropriate support regardless of the area where children and families live, clearly states that the national and local governments are responsible for support, and requires necessary measures.



On top of that, in order to assign nurses and nursery teachers who can take care such as sucking tan without the attendance of a guardian, and to respond to consultations from family members, for those who set up schools, kindergartens, and nursery schools. We are requesting that support centers be set up in each prefecture.



The law will come into force this fall.

Enhancement of specific support

Family members of children with medical care have called for the enhancement of specific support in the wake of the enactment of the law.



Toru Saito and Akiko's third daughter, Yumeka (7), in Kawanishi Town, Yamagata Prefecture, have been diagnosed with the intractable disease "trisomy 18."

By nature, cardiopulmonary function is weak, and "oxygen therapy" that sends high-concentration oxygen through the nose is indispensable, and nutrition is taken by "gastric fistula" six times a day.

Most of Yumeka's care is taken care of by Toru, a rice farmer, and Akiko, a high school teacher.

Yumeka attends a special school in Kaminoyama City, about 40 kilometers away from her home, four days a week, and also uses after-school day services in the neighboring city of Nanyo.

Toru-san picks up and drops off every day, but since it takes about 3 hours in total in the morning and evening, farm work is limited to about 5 or 6 hours in the early morning or during the day.



For this reason, Toru-san was forced to quit his job of removing snow, which he had been doing in winter, in addition to cutting lunch and breaks.



Toru-san and his colleagues had been discussing with the town for two years before they went to school because they wanted to be able to pick up and drop off easily and make friends of the same generation in the town. I have come.



This attitude moved the town, and the guidelines for medical care in elementary and junior high schools were formulated, but according to the town, even nurses need to be careful about the oxygen therapy they receive, and conversational communication is possible. Due to the difficulty, Yumeka-san's acceptance was not met.

I also considered going to a nearby special school, but gave up because I wasn't ready to accept it.



With the enactment of this law, Toru and Akiko urge that visiting nurses will accompany them to school and provide specific support for children with medical care and their families.

Akiko said, "It may be a good first step. I think it will be an opportunity for support to become more flexible."



Toru says, "I think that the government needs assistance to secure nurses, so I think the law is important to support this, but I would like you to review the range of people who can actually provide" medical care. " The hurdles have been raised even with simple care, so I hope it will be in a form that suits the actual situation. "

Acting Secretary-General Noda of the Liberal Democratic Party "It is important to acquire human resources and budget in the future"

Seiko Noda, acting secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, whose son was a medical care child and was involved in the drafting of the bill, told reporters, "It took several years to work, but it was established after overcoming various hardships. We were able to create a path for us to live with peace of mind. "



On top of that, "I want to make sure that children in need of medical care are living hard and that they are at the expense of immeasurable parents to survive. Children born normally. We have indicated that we should study in the classroom with us, so it is important to acquire the necessary human resources and budget in the future. "

Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Tamura "Efforts to improve the system"

After the Cabinet meeting, Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Tamura told reporters, "It is very important for children in need of medical care to be able to learn and receive childcare at their respective locations with peace of mind. We have provided support by allocating personnel, etc., but we must do our best to further improve the system. "