We talk to S. Premkumar Raja, Co-founder & Secretary of Nightingales Medical Trust to understand the responsibility of senior care during the pandemic.
How has the pandemic affected our seniors?
The pandemic continues to affect the lives of the elderly the most, as they are more susceptible to Coronavirus. This has impacted them physically, emotionally, socially and financially. The effect on elders who live alone and have medical issues is higher. Due to the fear of Covid-19, they hesitate to visit hospitals if they get sick or their regular checkups. Even though hospitals offer online consultations, seniors are not comfortable with it, due to various reasons, and suffer in silence. Staying indoors has become an important preventive measure. This, in turn, has led to an increase in different forms of abuse, isolation, fear and depression. As most elders are not tech savvy, they struggle to shop or make payments for utilities online.
What should society do to make seniors feel inclusive?
Most Indian elders don’t want to go to an old age home but are looking for an environment where they can lead a secure and dignified life with independence. Covid-19 has added to the already existing challenges faced by elders. Considering these new challenges, the government should revise the policy for older persons by involving all stakeholders, including elders, and come out with appropriate support systems. We can’t expect only the government to bring about all changes, we also need to make active efforts. Elders don’t look for luxury, they look for love, affection and respect. Family members, especially grand children should try to spend more quality time with their grandparents. The local community and service providers should also treat elders, especially those with special needs, with respect and affection.
What critical areas of elder care need attention?
If Covid-19 stays for a longer time, the needs and requirements of the elderly will change. With associated fear and risk, health care services need to be planned keeping elders in mind. Elders who feel isolated, lonely and depressed need to be counselled. Elder abuse and ill-treatment of different forms are also critical areas that need to be addressed. As many elders are dependent on Fixed Deposit bank interest for their livelihood, Government and banks should look at providing better interest rates to senior citizens.
During the pandemic Nightingales Medical Trust initiated new services for seniors through Elders Helpline. Tell us more about it?
As per estimates, there are over 2.4 lakhs elders living alone or with their spouses in Bangalore. During the lockdown, the Elders Helpline, a joint project of Nightingales Medical Trust and Bangalore City Police helped hundreds of elders in getting essentials delivered, and organising transport for them to go to hospitals, etc. The Helpline also started training elders on digital payments and online purchases without falling prey to cybercrime. It also offers tele-consultation on medical issues. For elders who cannot come to Helpline, the staff of the Helpline make home visits to resolve their complaints.
What other areas of work around seniors does NMT look into?
NMT runs various need-based projects for elders across Bangalore and Hyderabad. These are dementia care services, online active ageing programmes, rehabilitation of destitute elderly and mobile outreach programmes for the marginalised
NMT is also recognised as the Regional Resource and Training Centre by the government for the Southern states. So we have been reaching out to old-age homes and offering pandemic-specific training programmes for the staff and management.