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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Govt unveils health plan for elderly by Kounteya Sinha

Govt unveils health plan for elderly by Kounteya Sinha

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published Published on Jan 30, 2011   modified Modified on Jan 30, 2011

India has finally woken up to the needs of the country's elderly. With the number of people in the 60-plus age group inIndia expected to increase to 100 million in 2013 and to 198 million in2030, the health ministry is all set to roll out the National Programmefor the Health Care of the Elderly (NPHCE).

A ministry note, available with TOI, estimates that the elderly population will increase to 12% of the total population by 2025, 10% of which would be bedridden, requiring utmost care.

"That's why, we have formulated NPHCE to address various health-related problems of elderly people. The programme has got final approval from the expenditure finance committee. The ministry has already finalized operational guidelines and sent it to states for implementation," joint secretary B K Prasad told TOI.

Prasad added that funds were already being released and by 2012, the programme, "designed to be preventive, curative and rehabilitative for the elderly," would be rolled out in 100 districts of 21 states. According to the note, India will soon become home to the second largestnumber of older people in the world.

"However, the challenges are unique with this population in India. A majority (80%) of them are in the rural areas thus making service delivery a challenge, feminisation of the elderly population (51% of theelderly population would be women by 2016), increase in the number of the older-old (persons above 80 years) and 30% of the elderly are below poverty line," the note said.

Under the programme, district hospitals are being aided to start a 10-bedded geriatric ward. Eight regional 30-bedded geriatric centres arebeing set up in places like AIIMS, PGI Chandigarh, Government Medical College in Jaipur and Madras Medical College.

In the sub-centres, male health workers will be trained to make domiciliary visits to the elderly in areas under their jurisdiction. They will give special attention to the elderly who are bedridden and provide training to the family in looking after the disabled. They will arrange suitable callipers and supportive devices and provide them to elderly disabled people to make them ambulatory.

The district hospital will provide regular dedicated OPD services to theelderly besides setting up a 10-bed geriatric ward. "With increasing life expectancy, demographic ageing is an emerging phenomenon which willhit India hard in the coming years.


The Times of India, 31 January, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-unveils-health-plan-for-elderly/articleshow/7394269.cms


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