Vietnam is facing an alarming shortage of qualified nursing care workers for the elderly (Photo: laodong.vn) Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam is facing an alarmingshortage of qualified nursing care workers for the elderly. Most elderly peopleare cared for by their relatives or domestic helpers with little medicalexpertise, health experts said.
At a recent conference on effectively training andusing nursing care workers for the elderly, doctors said Vietnam isamong the five fastest-aging countries in the world. Currently, there are 10.1million elderly people in the country, accounting for 11 percent of thepopulation.
Dr Nguyen Trung Anh, deputy director of theNational Geriatric Hospital, said that most of the elderly are facing chronicdiseases that require lifelong treatment, such as high blood pressure, stroke,diabetes, cancers and asthma.
Apart from that, they are also dealing withAlzheimer, malnutrition and depression. The reduction of daily activitiesworsens health conditions for the elderly.
The hospital’s 2016 survey of 610 peopleabove age 80 in Hanoi's Soc Son district showed that an elderly could have sixor seven diseases on average.
Of that, 33.6 percent were widowed and 8.2 percentwere living alone. The average income of an elderly person was about 540,000 VND (24 USD) per month, mainly from pension or social welfare.
About 30 percent of them needed help on adaily basis, with tasks such as personal hygiene, dressing and eating. Up to 90percent needed help on cooking, cleaning, using mobile phones or using means oftransport.
Prof. Pham Thang, Director of the hospital,said that there was no official system of nursing workers for the elderly inthe country.
In his hospital, nurses were in charge ofgiving medical treatment and taking care of the elderly at the same time,putting pressure on nurses as they struggle to complete both tasks.
Thang said the patients’ relatives usuallyhired domestic helpers to take care of their elderly, which was costly butineffective as most were not trained as professional nursing staff.
The health sector needs to focus onbuilding a qualified source of nursing workers, he said.
At the conference, health experts suggestedthat the development of healthcare services for the elderly was necessary,including more nursing homes and apartment buildings for the elderly withmedical health services.
Vice minister of health Pham Le Tuan saidthat in the context of a rapidly aging population and amid the complications ofdiseases, the ministry has enhanced the role of primary healthcare services anddeveloped a family medicine model to promote the nursing of the elderly atlocalities.
The ministry would improve geriatrichospitals with the network of nursing staff, and encourage organisations andindividuals to invest in nursing homes for the elderly.
Tuan said apart from knowledge and skillson taking care of the elderly, nursing care workers need to understand thephysical and psychological demands of elderly people. This is a new service in Vietnamand the country can draw on the experiences of other countries in the world.
He said the hospital should be the pioneerto propose a plan for building a source of nursing staff to the ministry.
Vietnam has had an aging population since2011 and is expected to become an aging country by 2030. Currently, it has over10 million old people, accounting for 11 percent of the country’s population.Over 2 million of the elderly people are over 80 years old.-VNA
At a recent conference on effectively training andusing nursing care workers for the elderly, doctors said Vietnam isamong the five fastest-aging countries in the world. Currently, there are 10.1million elderly people in the country, accounting for 11 percent of thepopulation.
Dr Nguyen Trung Anh, deputy director of theNational Geriatric Hospital, said that most of the elderly are facing chronicdiseases that require lifelong treatment, such as high blood pressure, stroke,diabetes, cancers and asthma.
Apart from that, they are also dealing withAlzheimer, malnutrition and depression. The reduction of daily activitiesworsens health conditions for the elderly.
The hospital’s 2016 survey of 610 peopleabove age 80 in Hanoi's Soc Son district showed that an elderly could have sixor seven diseases on average.
Of that, 33.6 percent were widowed and 8.2 percentwere living alone. The average income of an elderly person was about 540,000 VND (24 USD) per month, mainly from pension or social welfare.
About 30 percent of them needed help on adaily basis, with tasks such as personal hygiene, dressing and eating. Up to 90percent needed help on cooking, cleaning, using mobile phones or using means oftransport.
Prof. Pham Thang, Director of the hospital,said that there was no official system of nursing workers for the elderly inthe country.
In his hospital, nurses were in charge ofgiving medical treatment and taking care of the elderly at the same time,putting pressure on nurses as they struggle to complete both tasks.
Thang said the patients’ relatives usuallyhired domestic helpers to take care of their elderly, which was costly butineffective as most were not trained as professional nursing staff.
The health sector needs to focus onbuilding a qualified source of nursing workers, he said.
At the conference, health experts suggestedthat the development of healthcare services for the elderly was necessary,including more nursing homes and apartment buildings for the elderly withmedical health services.
Vice minister of health Pham Le Tuan saidthat in the context of a rapidly aging population and amid the complications ofdiseases, the ministry has enhanced the role of primary healthcare services anddeveloped a family medicine model to promote the nursing of the elderly atlocalities.
The ministry would improve geriatrichospitals with the network of nursing staff, and encourage organisations andindividuals to invest in nursing homes for the elderly.
Tuan said apart from knowledge and skillson taking care of the elderly, nursing care workers need to understand thephysical and psychological demands of elderly people. This is a new service in Vietnamand the country can draw on the experiences of other countries in the world.
He said the hospital should be the pioneerto propose a plan for building a source of nursing staff to the ministry.
Vietnam has had an aging population since2011 and is expected to become an aging country by 2030. Currently, it has over10 million old people, accounting for 11 percent of the country’s population.Over 2 million of the elderly people are over 80 years old.-VNA
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