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New social benefits for elderly on way
"We are aiming to create a system which
repays the elderly for their services to the community and gives them
special rights and privileges," said Shaikha Hind. "Those laws will be particularly helpful
for elderly people whose relatives dump them in homes for the
elderly," she told the GDN. Shaikha Hind was speaking on the sidelines of
the Ninth Elderly Products and Handicrafts Exhibition, which was opened by
Labour and Social Affairs Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi at the Bahrain Mall
yesterday. The exhibition features goods and handicrafts
made by elderly people in several day-care and elderly centres. All the products on show are on sale and
proceeds go either to the elderly directly or to the homes caring for
them. Dr Al Alawi stressed that "They enjoy top quality social services
and one of the most advanced standards of care for the elderly in the
region," he said. "It is paramount that we continue
providing such a service." Elderly people, said Dr Al Alawi, were still
productive members of the community. "The elderly are still capable of giving
the community if they are given the chance to do so," he pointed. Dr
Al Alawi said the ministry currently provides medical and social care to
300 elderly people through its mobile care units, which visit old people
in their homes. "We will continue to press for more laws
to secure the rights of the elderly," he said. Shaikha Hind said new legislation will make
it compulsory for people who dump their parents in homes for the elderly
to visit them regularly and help in taking care of them. "It is also important for the private
sector to extend a helping hand for the elderly by any means they
can," she said. "We are working seriously on developing
standards and providing the elderly with more facilities," she said. "The mobile health care units, for
instance, cost BD34,000 to maintain annually. But we continue to provide
this service because it is important for them." Shaikha Hind said the mobile units are
essential for making it possible for families to take care of the elderly
in their own homes.
Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
