PHM, Predicting Surge Aged Population Surge, Wants More Funding

The Nation

January 23, 2009

Thailand

The Public Health Ministry will ask the National Health Security Office to allocate special budget to provide health care services for elderly people after learning the nation's aged population will soar to 13 million in the next sixteen years, Health Minister, Wittaya Kaewparadai said yesterday. 

The Health Ministry found that 80 percent of six million elderly people are now suffering with high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, paralysis, stroke, pulmonary troubles, and cataracts, he said at the "Primary Health Care Service: The Alliance to develop aged care system" conference. 

NHSO's current budget comes from the universal health care scheme, providing health care service for elderly people. But Wittaya said the budget is not enough to cover aged care service for treating chronic diseases in the elderly. 

He said, however, the ministry is now assessing the number of elderly people with chronic diseases nationwide to provide primary care service for them, particularly those living alone. 

According to ministry records in 2006, over 40 per cent of elderly people received care service from community hospitals, 17 per cent were admitted to general hospitals, and 15 per cent to primary care units in their villages. 

In a bid to develop an aged care service system, Wittaya said he has ordered 880 hospitals and 9,762 primary care units across the country to make care service faster and more comfortable for patients, such as special clinics to provide health check services, health promotions, and chronic disease prevention programs. 

Siriwan Siriboon, a researcher of Chulalongkorn University, said in her studies of elderly people in Thailand, she found most have accidents in their homes, and families lack time to take care of elderly members. 

Moreover, many public facilities are not suitable for elderly people and a lot of day care centres for the elderly in Bangkok did not pass the standard. 

" We found over 30,000 elderly people abandoned by family and government," she said. " They still need help." 

Voraves Suwanrada of Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Economy, said people should prepare themselves and plan personal finances for their old age by saving money for medical and social insurance. 

At present, 20 million people of working age have health welfare and insurance for old age. 

Siriwan said that 80 percent of the younger population do not think about saving for their old age . Many only start to save when they are 40. 

" They [people of working age] should start to make their personal financial plans earlier, if not they will face a lot of troubles when they are older," he said.

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