People in the world are living longer and they are giving birth to fewer and fewer children … No wonder that almost every country has more and more retired people and the elderly. How to provide them with care and support? In different parts of the world, different solutions to this problem appear.

Contents:

  1. Senior policy in Europe - support for seniors
  2. Senior policy in Europe - French residences for seniors
  3. Senior policy in Europe - German subscription aid
  4. Senior policy in Europe - British geriatric services

The Polish population is aging, but we are not alone in this - in France, retirees account for over 25% of the total population. society, in Germany the percentage of people over 65 is over 20 percent. Our native Central Statistical Office estimates that in Poland there is already approx. 17.5 percent. seniors, and in 2050 they will constitute 1/3 of the entire population.

In addition to considering who will work for their pensions, it is worth considering who will be looking after them. The problem of caring for the elderly is present everywhere, but in civilized countries it has a special dimension. It is here that the number of seniors that need to be taken care of is growing the fastest.

There are fewer and fewer multigenerational houses in Western Europe, but more and more young people are leaving their native cities and even countries in search of a better life. They leave their parents and grandparents aware that, if necessary, they will not be able to give them the proverbial glass of water.

Of course, there are families that have the opportunity to provide "foster" care to older people - hiring a babysitter for an elderly lady (often foreigners, but not only) is a daily reality, even in our country.

There are, of course, state-run nursing homes, but also private seniors' homes, which take care of the sick and infirm elderly for adequate sums. However, not everyone can afford it.

Senior policy in Europe - support for seniors

All this means that institutions responsible for internal politics are looking for solutions that will provide seniors, especially the lonely ones, with proper care and a decent life.

It is different in different countries. But, interestingly, there is an emphasis in each of them on keeping seniors as long as possiblethey stayed in their homes, local communities, so that they could live as before, despite their worse well-being or less mobility.

The proverb says that "old trees are not replanted" - research shows that one of the factors causing depression and worsening the he alth of the elderly is isolation, resulting from the need to move to a retirement home or caused by loneliness (loss of contact with family and friends), e.g. as a result of being bedridden.

Therefore, specialists are convinced that the best support for seniors is the one that will make them live as before, despite their age and deepening infirmity, with a sense of independence and independence.

The point is that their lifestyle and habits would not change due to a worse mood, so that they would be active as long as possible. Such activities are already a European standard that we should strive for in our country. What does supporting seniors in Western countries look like?

Senior policy in Europe - French residences for seniors

Maryse, living near Lyon, 52, husband, two adult children, teenage stepdaughter and 78-year-old mother. After the death of her father, she decided to sell her parents' apartment and take her mother with her. The idea was good, but it didn't work. Living three generations under one roof had proved too difficult for Maryse's family. They didn't want their mom to live alone, on the other hand, they didn't want to live with her.

A house for the elderly was being built in the nearby town. Not the "old people's home", which of course exist in France, but the so-called residences seniors. These are popular establishments in this country (you can find them in every larger town) that offer apartments for people over 60, who cannot live independently, but do not want to go to a retirement home.

It is also a great solution for retirees who want to avoid being too isolated from the local community with which they have been associated for years.

Residence seniors, where Maryse's mother went, is located in a quiet part of the town. It is a 4-storey building with several dozen one or two-room apartments, a kitchen, a bathroom and a balcony. On the ground floor of the building there is a reception desk open 24 hours a day, with which residents can communicate by bell or telephone.

It has a nurse or a person with medical education who, if necessary, can provide first aid, perform a simple procedure, e.g. an injection and of course call a doctor who appears on each alarm, but also once a week for routine, several-hour duty.

Next to the reception desk is a day room where you can watch TV, play cards or just chat with your neighbors, and a canteen where you can buy meals, but don't have to.

Residence seniors offer many services - shopping, organizing trips to the cinema, etc. Each apartment is furnished by the owner, only a bathroom is ready, adapted to the needs of an elderly person (shower instead of a bathtub, wide door that can fit " walker "etc.), she can keep a dog or a cat in it.

Maryse's mom doesn't have a pet, but she enjoys company, so she spends most of the day downstairs with her friends. One day, when she did not do it, the nurse from the reception came to check that the old lady was well. He goes for a walk with them every day, and every Wednesday he goes to the market for fruit and vegetables.

Of course, living in such a house costs money. Renting a studio in a senior's residence is approx. 1000 € per month. Rates vary depending on the location and the basic services offered by the residence.

Part of the cost of rent and services is covered by the senior's pension, the rest is paid by families and private insurer, if the person had one. If not, you can apply for state support.

Senior policy in Europe - German subscription aid

There are also similar homes in Germany where elderly people can lead independent lives as before, but with the awareness that there is someone who watches over them and that they are cared for.

This is called sheltered housing, adapted to the needs of seniors, with access to shopping assistance, medical care (nursing duty), which are usually located on the lowest floors of ordinary residential buildings.

However, most Germans benefit from a different type of assistance for the elderly, which is widely available and provided by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs.

Its goal is also to support seniors where they live. Such assistance is usually free of charge, and precisely financed from insurance and implemented by the so-called social stations, of which there are approx. 12 thousand behind the Oder.

Each of them offers basic nursing benefits, but also various types of subscription assistance. As part of the subscription granted (after appropriate verification) to the senior by the social station and paid with the money of the local government, he can use various types of services.

Such support is used by 73-year-old Zofia, a Polish woman living for 45 years in Nuremberg, who is a childless widow of a German academic lecturer.

Thanks loc althe social station, it receives subscription assistance in domestic repairs, e.g. plumbing. Her friends from the senior club she attends receive a different kind of support: one has a flat adapted to his needs after he was partially paralyzed after a stroke, for another the station provides transport from home for rehabilitation treatments.

Someone has meals delivered, someone else receives purchases at the door and has someone to clean the house.

Living houses are also very popular in Germany. These are facilities open on weekdays, where the family can leave the senior during their working hours. This form of support allows the older person to live in their own home and at the same time allows their children or grandchildren to be professionally active.

Day-care homes can be used both by people with dementia and with mobility impairments, as they have qualified employees and appropriate equipment. The facilities are financed by insurance or the organizations that run them.

Senior policy in Europe - British geriatric services

The UK also boasts an effective system of care for the elderly where they live. Or at least she could - for several years in the UK, social workers taking care of seniors have been leaving their jobs en masse.

The reason is the excess of obligations caused by the growing number of people in need (this is the result of the aging British society) and low salaries in this sector. The government has already allocated additional money to save the so-called geriatric service.

This unit operates within the National He alth Service and is financed by insurance contributions. One of the elements of the senior care system is the day hospital, which deals with the care and care of people who require rehabilitation or medical care.

Provides the senior with transport, food and the necessary treatments to help him return to he alth and fitness, and stay at home as long as possible.

Care for the elderly who do not require such intensive assistance is taken over by community geriatric care, i.e. by employees who look after the senior in their place of residence.

In addition to nursing and medical services, these teams help seniors with shopping, cooking and cleaning, they also transport patients for treatments or medical visits, deliver meals, etc.

Category:

Geriatrics