Healthcare Strategy For Ageing Population
Improvement in
healthcare standards have not only contributed to rapid population growth but
also increase life expectancy. The percentage of older adults is high and will
continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Moreover, the society is changing
fast – joint families are being replaced by nuclear family structures and the
proportion of working women is also on rise. Are we prepared to allow them to
live independently as long as possible is the challenge!! Challenge includes ever
increasing number of old age people and most of them with multiple chronic
illnesses requiring long term care, stress on family, mental health issues
including dementia, disability and the chances of ‘hurt’ or physical ‘injury’.
Being ‘frail’ in itself is a condition which merits interventions.
The
response needs to be a coordinated effort with multi-layered, multi-sectoral
interventions. This would require earmarking budget - but the utmost important
thing is development of a strategy from now to cater to this fast emerging need
instead of reactive approach much later in time.
Proposed
interventions should include, but not be limited to, the following:
(i)
Community Geriatric
Nursing – introduction of a new cadre with training & capacity building to
bring out a network of trained, motivated staff catering to the needs of
specialized (particularly placed) care for the aged at their homes or at the
community level.
(ii)
Mental Health Care
especially focused on geriatric psychiatry.
(iii)
Day care centres (as
opposed to residential old homes) which could provide entertainment and nursing
care to elderly when their kids are on jobs and they face extreme loneliness.
Such centres can have outreach where a trained Nursing Care practitioner could
visit the home for breakfast time medication & cleaning up in morning,
lunch time in afternoon and before going to bed needs of elderly around dinner
time.
(iv)
Fall-Prevention
avoidance lessons as well as environment – this may include advocacy messages
for the elderly and their family, and measures such as automated staircases etc
for the municipal areas frequented by elders per force too – such as banks
visited by pensioners and so on.
(v)
Chronic-multiple-illnesses
management of the elderly with frail bodies. This requires proper medication
management viz quality of life, access to free or subsidized medication as in
most cases its illnesses with expensive treatments piled up;
(vi)
Hospices for the
terminally ill (not only for cancer but for all non-communicable diseases) to
have pain and comfort management
in their last days
(vii)
Health promotion
strategy towards ‘prevention and wellness across the life span’ - active and
healthy life styles from the beginning.
(viii)
Any other point.
I
understand it is difficult for the Secretariat or Directorate to work on it in
isolation due to exclusive expertise required in this particular field – I
would therefore suggest consultation with research institutions and
practitioners such as Khyber Medical University etc, Health Organizations etc
to draw up a draft strategy paper within three weeks time. Dr Shahid Yunis
Chief HSRU & Dr Shaheen Afridi, Director DGHS Office shall be the focal
point for this.
( Muhammad Abid Majeed )
Secretary Health
1.
Director General Health
Services Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
2.
Chief HSRU Health
Department
3.
Director Public Health
DGHS office
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