Vox Parva: Elderly policies must respond to the rising aging rate

Benedict Keith Ip

I recently visited the Macao Foundation – Caritas Home Care Service section, in an attempt to understand some of the challenges and prospects they are facing while providing their services. The ladies in charge of the center expressed how their services really help a lot of people who are in the middle of nowhere – that is, people who are not able to be admitted to elderly homes. The service can help them care for their elderly relatives at home so that they can still recover and be well cared for. The service is quite effective in easing the pressure of hospitalization as well as elderly care admissions.
In the fourth week of March 2015, Chief Executive Fernando Chui will deliver his speech on the policy projection of the 2015 fiscal year. Maybe it is also a good time for us to make a few projections from the present state of elderly care.
Macau and other regions are facing the problem of an aging population. The UN defines an aging society as one where persons over the age of 65 (the “elderly”) comprise 7% of the population. If that rises to 14%, the society is called an “aged society”. Once that proportion goes beyond 20%, it is defined as an “ultra-­aging society” or a “hyper-aged society.”
The previous censuses have shown that the proportion of elderly people in Macau reached 7.7% in 1981, but in the 1980s a large number of younger people from mainland China migrated to Macau, causing the elderly portion of the population to drop to 6.6% in 1991. This did not stop the population aging and the elderly population remains above 7% of the overall population.
The latest population projections also pointed out that the proportion of the elderly in 2031 will reach 22.4%, which is too severe considering that one in five among us will be elderly.
Back in 2009, the Macau Government made clear its policy of giving “a sense of security, a sense of belonging, a sense of worthiness.” To this end, the Macao Foundation and Caritas have joined hands to give round-the-clock home care services, giving the elderly and the disabled more opportunities to live in their own homes, instead of staying in a hospital or living in a nursing home. Services include basic nursing care and management, rehabilitation care, social work and counseling services, and training for care-givers for the home.
After more than two years of the program, as of December 2014, 357 cases had been attended to. Of these, approximately 60% are short-term (three months or less), 30% are middle-term (6–12 months), and about 10% long-term (more than one year). Generally, after about three months, a stable home care has been created or they are able to find alternative care. Their families are also able adjust their schedule, and the mood and condition of the patient improves.
There is no time for us to blame the past. St. Augustine of Hippo has said, “The times are bad! The times are troublesome! This is what humans say. But we are our times. Let us live well and our times will be good. Such as we are, such are our times.”
While the budget has to be increased to tackle short-term needs, the Macau government has to shoulder more responsibilities to reserve lots in newly reclaimed areas to build more facilities. The government also needs to manage the socio-economic changes more actively, and to not solely rely on the existing associations. The situation will be better if we encourage more up-to-date and tailor-made services for society. New policies have to be more creative and down to earth, rather than paraphrasing symbols or nice sound bites.