country’s elderly. With the number of people in the 60-plus age group in
India expected to increase to 100 million in 2013 and to 198 million in
2030, the health ministry is all set to roll out the National Programme
for 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 largest
number 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 the
elderly 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 are
being 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 the
elderly besides setting up a 10-bed geriatric ward. "With increasing
life expectancy, demographic ageing is an emerging phenomenon which will
hit India hard in the coming years.