The burden of health care for the elderly is 7-10 times that of young people.

SGGPO November 10, 2023 18:59

Currently, the ability to provide health care services for the elderly in our country is still limited, lacking medical facilities, nursing home systems and human resources to care for the elderly.

On November 10, at the 4th National Geriatric Conference held in Hanoi , Mr. Nguyen Trung Anh, Director of the Central Geriatric Hospital, Chairman of the Vietnam Geriatrics Association, said that currently the ability to provide medical services for the elderly in our country is still limited, lacking medical facilities and human resources to care for the elderly (doctors, geriatric nurses, caregivers).

In addition, the system of nursing homes and social protection centers is limited in both quantity and quality. Meanwhile, on average, an elderly person suffers from 7 chronic diseases, so medical expenses and care burden are 7-10 times higher than that of young people. The average income of the elderly is only about 538,000 VND/month, mainly from social protection, pensions and only 62.79% of the elderly have health insurance.

The provision of medical services and care for the elderly in our country still has many limitations.

Faced with this situation, Mr. Nguyen Trung Anh proposed that it is necessary to soon establish a department of geriatrics at medical universities, strengthen training in geriatrics for doctors, nurses, and other medical staff; train human resources to care for the elderly; promote international cooperation in training human resources in geriatrics. At the same time, it is necessary to develop a long-term care system for the elderly through developing a system of nursing homes, especially nursing homes with medical care, and diversify support services for the elderly living at home.

According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam officially entered the population aging stage in 2011 and is one of the 10 countries with the fastest population aging rate in the world . In 2021, the country had 12.5 million elderly people (accounting for 12.8% of the population). It is estimated that by 2038, Vietnam will move into the aging population stage with the elderly accounting for over 20% of the population.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/ganh-nang-cham-soc-y-te-nguoi-cao-tuoi-gap-tu-7-10-lan-nguoi-tre-post713599.html