A set of standards for long-term care for immobilized elderly who are unable to care for themselves will be jointly released by the city’s social security authority and several other government agencies, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.
According to the city’s human resources and social security bureau, it will seek public opinions on the standards after drafting proposals with the civil affairs, public health and finance departments, among others.
The standards, set to be released by the end of the year, cover elderly people and other populations who cannot care for themselves.
The bureau said that the standards are highly relevant for the assessment of disabilities, evaluation of care services, establishment of standard salaries for care providers and supervision over such services.
However, according to the bureau, there is limited experience in China as well as other countries for Shenzhen to learn from. Thus, the city is going to study deeper into setting up standards that are specifically tailored to Shenzhen to protect the rights of the immobilized elderly and other groups in need.
To meet the demands, Shenzhen has been actively seeking ways to provide care for the elderly who need to stay in bed all the time by collaborating with hospitals, encouraging institutions to provide home service and incorporating medical insurance for special care services.
At present, the city’s social insurance authority has signed deals with 13 hospitals at various levels to provide in-bed care service.
The charging standards for the care service at the hospitals range from 660 to 730 yuan (US$97 to 107) per day. It has been reported that over 2,500 people have already used the care service at the hospitals.
For those elderly patients who can be treated and cared for at home, there is also an option for a door-to-door care service. The social insurance agency has so far worked with 21 medical institutions and 381 community health care centers to provide home service.
Insured patients can receive reimbursements from the social insurance authority based on the charging standard and the actual days they are hospitalized. The subsidy standard for patients receiving home service is 74 yuan per day this year.
The bureau announced that at least 3,100 people had used the home care service, and the medical insurance fund had paid out over 6.72 million yuan.