New program to meet demand for services

The provinces of Guangdong and Jiangsu have joined a local government-led program that is attempting to meet the growing demand for home-based services for seniors with disabilities.

In the event of an emergency, bedside buttons allow seniors who live alone to quickly alert nearby community centers, which can send nurses and offer a range of government-funded services.

In addition, staff members constantly monitor screens showing seniors' living rooms and kitchens, scanning for accidents.

By adding the equipment, the governments are attempting to make seniors' homes an extension of public nursing homes, which are coming under increasing strain from the growing number of seniors seeking affordable care.

Lawmakers in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu, recently promoted laws obliging the city government to provide services for families with disabled seniors.

The two provinces are among a number of localities that have spearheaded experiments aimed at addressing the challenges facing seniors. The shortage of affordable slots at public retirement homes and older people's reluctance to live away from the family home are the most pressing issues.

"Private facilities are still very expensive," said Nie Riming, a researcher with the Shanghai Institute of Finance and Law, a think tank and advisory body.

In many cases, moving seniors into a nursing home would be considered a sign of unharmonious family relations and could be used to suggest a lack of filial piety.

However, that desire to stay at home is complicated by chronic diseases and disabilities, which are prevalent among the frailest seniors.

Speaking at a news conference in September, Wang Jianjun, a senior official with the National Health Commission, said nearly 180 million seniors have chronic illnesses, while 40 million have various levels of disability.

The developments come as China works to cope with the growing number of retirees.

Figures provided by the China National Working Commission on Aging show that by the end of 2018, China was home to nearly 250 million people age 60 and older. That number is expected to peak at 487 million sometime in the middle of the century.