Latest news with #elderlycare
BBC News
8 hours ago
- BBC News
Donald needed family love - not a baton and Taser
"You could see just by his eyes, that wasn't Donald," said Jason Pye, who watched footage of his great uncle Donald Burgess being sprayed with Pava, hit with a baton and Tasered by police played repeatedly in court."It was shocking. How does a 92-year-old know what a spray or a Taser is?"Mr Burgess, a wheelchair user who had one leg, was reportedly brandishing a cutlery knife when police arrived at his care home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex before Tasering Pye said the family could have calmed Mr Burgess if they were contacted by care staff - but the home told the BBC they gave them a full update as soon as they were able to. Care staff waited four hours until contacting Mr Burgess's family about the Pye said the family, who lived 10 minutes away, could have resolved the situation without the police, and should have been called immediately."That one room was his home. No one introduced who they were," he said Mr Burgess may have put down the knife if his family had sat with him for an hour or two. "We could have been talking to him to say 'don't be silly' and he would have recognised our voices," he said."They phoned family members before just for general updates, so I don't understand on this occasion why didn't they think of calling someone on the list to see if someone could go up there." The following video contains distressing scenes. Sussex PCs Stephen Smith and Rachel Comotto were found not guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm when jurors returned their unanimous verdicts at Southwark Crown Court on 28th court heard Mr Burgess was acting out of character and threatening to murder the care home had a urinary tract infection (UTI), which can make sufferers jury heard how care home staff tried for more than 30 minutes to get Mr Burgess to put down his knife, before police arrived at about 13:15 Burgess was taken to hospital after his arrest and died 22 days later after contracting Covid-19. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said PC Smith and PC Comotto should face a gross misconduct hearing for potential breaches of the police standards of professional behaviour, with PC Comotto facing a further misconduct allegation relating to comments she made on social media after the asked if the officers would deny or admit to the allegations, Sussex Police Federation declined to comment because of the ongoing live misconduct Pye, who described his great uncle as funny and gentle, said his family were now waiting for the hearing, and for the inquest into his great uncle's death to resume."If Donald didn't go into hospital, he may not have caught Covid, and he may not have died when he did," he said. Jodie Anderson, a senior caseworker at the charity Inquest, which is supporting the family, said she hoped the inquest would look at whether the care home's decision to call the police was appropriate."I sincerely hope the care home staff have reflected on how they responded that day, " she said. In a statement, Regal Care Trading said: "We understand the family's concern regarding the timing of the call, and we recognise how important timely communication is in such circumstances. "However, staff must first ensure that the situation is stabilised before contacting family members."It said that while it valued the involvement of families, its primary responsibility was to ensure the welfare and safety of all residents and staff."In crisis situations, our policy is to promptly involve the appropriate professionals who are trained to manage complex and potentially high-risk behaviours," it said."Once the situation is under control, we inform families as soon as possible about any incidents involving their loved ones."
Irish Times
14 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, June 20th: Older people and language, loving your neighbour, misery and Gen Z
Sir, – A narrative of protecting our vulnerable 'elderly' has emerged following the recent RTÉ Investigates programme on the horrific treatment of older persons in nursing homes. Listening to the various debates, one is struck by the importance of language and the messaging that it conveys in the public discourse. Organisations such as the Irish Gerontological Society (IGS), devoted to the study of ageing, prohibit the use of the term 'elderly' in their publications due to negative connotations associated with dependency. Terms such as 'older persons', 'older people' or 'older adults' are encouraged by organisations such as Age Action, and Alone who seek to empower older persons and combat ageism. READ MORE Considering later life through the lens of the citizenship frames 'older persons' as citizens and rights holders, with the right to have their holistic needs met in whatever setting they may be residing. Furthermore, the lens of citizenship advocates an analysis of how policies and social structures affect our older citizens, and can challenge ageism which impacts upon the rights of older persons to participate fully in society. – Yours, etc, Dr JENNIFER ALLEN, Senior social worker, Mental Health Service for Older Persons, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin. Sir, – In light of the disturbing findings revealed by RTÉ Investigates into the treatment of residents in some Irish nursing homes – particularly Beneavin Manor, Glasnevin and The Residence, Portlaoise – I feel compelled to share a contrasting experience. My 90-year-old mother is supported at home by a home care team. They are men and women from all over the world, and their presence brings her joy, comfort, and dignity. When one of her regular carers recently moved on, she was genuinely sad to see him go – a testament to the meaningful relationships built through consistent, person-centred care. Just this week, with some additional private hours topping up her HSE allocation, the team supported my mum to leave the house for the first time since March. She went to the hairdresser – for a perm! That small act was transformative – restoring her sense of self, and later that day, we learned she will be discharged from palliative care. This is what good care looks like. As a country, we are reeling from yet another scandal in institutional care. But we must also look to the models that are working – those rooted in respect, continuity, and human connection. Home care, when properly resourced and delivered by skilled, valued workers, can change lives. It can restore dignity. It can offer hope. We need strong oversight in nursing homes, but we also need investment and policy reform that empowers people to stay in their own homes for as long as possible – safely, and on their own terms. – Yours, etc, KATHLEEN McLOUGHLIN, Roscrea, Co Tipperary. Key observation Sir, – Reading Ray Burke's Irishman's Diary (June 18th) reminded me of a story of a local character in Athy years ago, who on seeing the fire brigade flying by with sirens blaring was heard to say: 'It's not my house anyway, I have the key in my pocket.' – Yours, etc, NUALA QUINN, Carlow. Loving God and your neighbours Sir, – As someone who has served for over 30 years until my recent retirement as a rector in the Diocese of Down and Dromore, I find Bishop David McClay's statement to the clergy and people of Down and Dromore saddening (' Bishop criticises Christ Church invite to speak at Pride service ,' June 18th). He does not speak for me, or for many members of his diocese. Many committed Christians will find what he says distressing, even hurtful. Of course, the bishop speaks for many Christians, and the issues surrounding human sexuality are currently a cause of much division and pain. People of deep faith and real integrity are on both 'sides' of the debate. I find it difficult to understand why he, and many others, place such emphasis on those few (almost certainly less than 10) scriptural passages that either disapprove of, or condemn, same-sex relationships, while ignoring passages that prohibit wearing clothes of two different types of material, cross-breeding domestic animals or planting two kinds of seed in the same field (Leviticus 19:19). If there are gradations of authority, why this one? But to me the clinching argument is this: over the centuries, and even today, gay people have been made to feel rejected, misunderstood, hurt and isolated, unable to express themselves. The church, along with society as a whole, has been complicit in this. Many have been driven to despair, even suicide. Church condemnation of same-sex relationships causes great pain to many and gives permission to an unacceptable homophobia. I know that this is not Bishop McClay's intention, but it happens. To me the call to love our neighbour demands that I do not take positions that make others feel less than worthy. Love is the supreme command – love God and neighbour as we love ourselves. That trumps any legalistic prohibitions. Let us celebrate same-sex love just as we celebrate heterosexual love. Let us affirm those who are different, those we may not understand. That is part of love, the supreme command. – Yours , etc, Rev Canon TIMOTHY KINAHAN, Northern Ireland. Trinity College and Israel Sir, – Dr David Landy states that academic freedom was 'an important consideration in the Trinity debate' that resulted in the university's decision on June to cut ties with Israeli universities (' Why academic institutions are cutting ties with Israel ,' June 19th). But there has been no debate in Trinity. The college board voted to accept the internal taskforce recommendations before referring the report for further consideration to relevant college committees in line with the terms under which the taskforce was established. Indeed, the taskforce report has not been published, so most of the faculty have been unable to scrutinise it or understand how the board came to its decision. The principle of academic freedom has been shredded by the board's decision. Academic freedom is not compatible with an institutional ban on co-operation with colleagues in Israeli universities and research units. Academic freedom gives Dr Landy the choice to personally cut ties with colleagues in Israel or any other country he chooses, but that freedom is no longer available to Trinity academics who wish to continue contacts with colleagues in Israel. As Israel is an associate country to the European Union's research and innovation funding programmes, Trinity academics are now unable to apply for EU funding for research projects which include Israeli colleagues. As an illustration, one such current project is working on a novel, off-the-shelf delivery system for mRNA-based nanomedicines to improve diagnostic and therapeutic options for cancer and cardiovascular disease. Researchers from Trinity and the University of Tel Aviv are working on this project together with colleagues from the Netherlands, Canada, France, Hungary, Sweden, Spain, Norway and Belgium. Trinity researchers are also working on trials whose objective is to improve outcomes for people with autistic spectrum disorders via a global clinical trial. Researchers from Trinity and the Israeli pharmaceutical firm Teva are two of 63 European and US participants including hospitals, universities, patient groups, pharma companies and not-for-profit organisations. While these projects will continue, Trinity academics are now locked out of all such research consortia. Years of academic endeavour will now go to waste and millions of euro of funding will be lost. Dr Landy claims that Trinity's boycott of Israel is not anti-Semitic. However, while Trinity singles out Israel alone – the only Jewish state on earth, home to half the population of the world's Jews – but maintains ties with other countries with well-documented human rights and international law violations, the charge of institutional anti-Semitism and racism is unavoidable. – Yours, etc, JANE MAHONY, PhD, TCD, Dublin 6. Misery and Gen Z Sir, – The Oxford Dictionaries define Generation Z as 'the group of people who were born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s who are regarded as being very familiar with the internet'. Finn McRedmond writes that 'it's no surprise that Gen Z are miserable' (June 19th ). Perhaps spending less time with the internet and the phone might bring less misery. – Yours, etc, PATRICK O'BYRNE, Dublin 7. Missing out on transition year Sir, – What a great idea to have a national plan to target educational disadvantage. I note the Minister for Education, Helen McEntee, plans to particularly tackle high levels of absenteeism in disadvantaged and special education settings. I wonder does always excluding children in special schools from transition year, thus missing an entire year of education that over 80 per cent of their developing peers receive, represent State-endorsed absenteeism? Transition year is never offered in any special school in the State as per Government policy or never has been in the 40 years since its inception. If Ms McEntee's genuine priority is to really target educational disadvantage, it might be useful to finally lift this rock? – Yours, etc, CAROLINE FARRELL, Dublin 3. Debating security and the EU Sir,– In the Letters page (June 17th), Senator Tom Clonan, John O'Riordan and Fintan Lane comment in different ways on Ireland's potential contribution to debates on European security and global order. Ireland has a solemn duty to speak truth to power within the EU, said Clonan. The EU should 'negotiate directly with Russia to find conditions for an immediate ceasefire and an enduring solution to the Russian-Ukrainian war', said O'Riordan. 'Instead of decoupling Irish Army deployment abroad from the UN,' the Government should argue 'for deeper reform within the UN and a greater role for the General Assembly', said Lane. Pope Leo XIV states that 'the temptation to have recourse to powerful and sophisticated weapons needs to be rejected'. From this perspective, there is a scenario that draws together the thinking of Clonan, O' Riordan, and Lane. If a mission linked to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitors a future line of contact in eastern Ukraine, as happened under the Minsk agreements, a reimagined OSCE can recover the role it played in the former Helsinki process as a space for deliberation about the future. The defining goals of a new Helsinki-style dialogue can be summed up in three points: (i) recognition of the European Union as the anchor of a wider European zone of peace and economic cooperation; (ii) avoiding economic and cultural 'zero-sum games' in eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and other parts of the region: and (iii) a renewed commitment, based on the Helsinki principles, to enshrine cooperative economic relationships as a core value in international relations, and in this way to bring the European and global agendas together. In becoming the advocate and anchor of a wider European zone of peace and economic cooperation, the European Union can discover a new energy and sense of purpose. In the absence of some new departure in diplomacy, we are likely to see a hardening of the 'unquestioned assumptions and myths' referred to in Clonan's letter. In Germany, the UK, and elsewhere, the proposition that the arms industry and the arms trade are the key to 'future-proofing' the economy is mingled, not quite coherently, with arguments based on considerations of military security. A recent article by the president of the European Central Bank asserts that 'joint financing of public goods, like defence, could create more safe assets'. Christine Lagarde associates the supposed benefits of manufacturing weapons of greater and greater lethality with a further centralisation of power within the EU: 'more qualified majority voting in critical areas would enable Europe to speak with one voice.' The forthcoming international conference on financing for development in Seville will give us an indication of the extent to which the temptation to pursue growth and innovation through the arms industry is accompanied by reductions in development assistance and a loss of interest in the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and international financial reform. This year, for the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, the chair-in-office of the OSCE is Finland. In 2026, it will be Switzerland. Is it unthinkable that in a spirit of solemn duty, as evoked by Clonan, Ireland could take on this burden in 2027 or 2028? We would bring to the table the values of the Good Friday agreement and Irish Aid, our peacekeeping tradition and our military neutrality, our standing as an EU member state with close links with the US, and our role in co-facilitating the negotiation of the SDGs. EU founding father Robert Schuman believed that 'the peace of the world cannot be maintained without creative efforts commensurate with the scale of the threat'. For him, the European project stood for the economics of solidarity at home and abroad. The Schuman Declaration emphasises Europe's responsibility to Africa. Let Schuman be the north star of the project I have in mind. – Yours, etc, PHILIP McDONAGH, Adjunct professor, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dublin City University. Visiting other countries Sir, – Dennis Fitzgerald suggests in his letter (June 18th) that, given the current state of the world, we might do well to visit Australia – a safe and friendly destination, with only the occasional jellyfish or mushroom to worry about. It's a tempting thought. But I wonder if we are not long past the time when choosing a holiday should simply be a matter of personal taste, budget and travel brochures? Flying halfway around the planet for a bit of sunshine and sightseeing is hard to square with the knowledge that the very act of doing so helps fuel the fire – quite literally – that is making many parts of the world increasingly uninhabitable. This isn't a question of blame, but of awareness. Perhaps instead of encouraging long-haul leisure travel, we should be asking how to make it feel less normal – and a bit less easy to justify – in a time of planetary crisis. There are worse things than jellyfish. One of them is pretending there is no climate emergency. – Yours, etc, JAMES CANDON , Brussels, Belgium.
Medscape
a day ago
- Health
- Medscape
This French Nursing Home Accepts Inmates Others Won't
Like the general population, France's prison population is aging. In 2019, nearly 2600 inmates were over the age of 60, and close to 500 were over 70. According to the French Prison Administration Directorate (DAP), 115 of these individuals were classified as dependent, and 430 were living with physical disabilities. Despite these needs, very few healthcare facilities in France are equipped to accommodate older, dependent former inmates. Currently, only two nursing homes accept individuals with a history of incarceration. One of them is the Saint Barthélemy nursing home in Marseille, affiliated with the Saint John of God Foundation. Its director, Olivier Quenette, spoke with Journal International de Medecine (JIM) , a Medscape Network platform, about the challenges and responsibilities involved in caring for this particularly vulnerable group. How did your nursing home come to care for individuals coming out of the prison system? Is there a link to the philosophy of the Foundation that supports your facility? It happened by chance. We were approached by a family member of a 61-year-old man who had just been released from prison and had no housing solution. We agreed to take him in. The Foundation's philosophy is to support the most vulnerable — those who are invisible or without options. We're committed to unconditional acceptance, so we responded positively to what was, in this case, an urgent request. Did the idea of accepting incarcerated individuals develop gradually from there? Absolutely. In 2005, we visited the Saint John of God facility in Austria, which had created a correctional unit within a hospital. That inspired us to consider the needs of aging people in prison. We started to study the issue and built relationships with the prison system to understand how it works — its language, procedures, and requirements — to be able to integrate these individuals appropriately. How many incarcerated or formerly incarcerated individuals do you currently care for? What is their legal status? As of our latest count in June 2024, we had admitted 29 people, including two women, with ages ranging from 54.5 to 89.7 years — an average age of 69.9. Fourteen were on modified sentences with judicial oversight, three were on parole with electronic monitoring, and seven had medical sentence suspensions. Only one was released without support. How do you ensure anonymity for residents with a history of incarceration? We've chosen to uphold a right to be forgotten. What matters to us is that the individual has either served their sentence or is in the process of doing so. We do not share the reasons for a resident's incarceration with the care team. This is an ethical decision. It's up to the resident to disclose their background, if and when they choose. Naturally, in today's digital age, media reports about certain cases are easy to find. We've encountered such situations. But after more than 15 years of admitting former inmates, this is no longer a sensitive issue within our facility. We treat each person as an individual — not as someone defined by a past offense. Others may choose to look into a resident's background, but for us, it holds no greater weight than any other part of their personal history. We treat it as confidential, much like medical information. Are there specific medical characteristics that distinguish incarcerated or formerly incarcerated residents from others in your facility? Our nursing home has a somewhat specialized profile; we primarily care for individuals who have experienced homelessness or who live with mental health conditions. Of our 245 beds, the majority are occupied by residents with nontraditional or complex life histories. The current average age is 74, and approximately 60% of residents are men. Most are enrolled in public social assistance programs. One of the key challenges with formerly incarcerated residents is helping them unlearn institutional behaviors developed in prison and relearn how to live independently. We recognized early on that this group requires more frequent and intensive psychological support, as they tend to experience higher levels of anxiety. This is particularly true for younger residents, especially those under the age of 65, who also benefit from more structured daily activities. To support their reintegration, we offer paid, meaningful activities that carry therapeutic, occupational, and social value within the facility's community. We also maintain close collaboration with correctional social workers (known in France as CPIPs, Conseillers Pénitentiaires d'Insertion et de Probation), who visit monthly to meet with both the former inmates and staff. We've successfully supported the reintegration of several former residents; four have transitioned to independent living. These transitions always take place following a period of judicial supervision, but each resident leads the process, and we provide support every step of the way. What psychological and psychiatric support do you provide? Some residents have psychiatric conditions. We rely on private psychiatrists who also care for our other residents, and we ensure follow-up. Our in-house psychologists work closely with these individuals, especially during the admission period and the first few months. Some residents are also under mandatory psychiatric follow-up ordered during incarceration. How do you coordinate medical care and judicial monitoring — for example, for residents with electronic ankle monitors? Their medical care is the same as for any other resident. With their consent, they are assigned a private physician who manages their care, appointments, and testing. We handle transport logistics if needed. One resident took 2 years before leaving the facility, so we support them in rebuilding autonomy. Those with ankle monitors are allowed to leave their rooms during specific times, managed in coordination with their probation officer. Nursing homes often report difficulties in hiring healthcare staff. Does your facility face these challenges? The healthcare labor market in our sector is undeniably tight. We face recruitment challenges in certain roles, particularly when it comes to coordinating physicians — a difficulty reported by more than 30% of nursing homes in France. However, for nursing and nursing assistant positions, we are currently able to meet about 95% of our staffing needs. While we are not experiencing acute shortages, there is ongoing pressure, and we must continuously recruit to anticipate potential vacancies and ensure continuity of care. Have your staff received specific training to care for current or former inmates? Have any raised concerns? No specific training has been provided for caring for formerly incarcerated individuals. As I mentioned, we focus first on the resident's primary condition — whether that be mental illness, physical illness, or a state of dependency. In our experience, residents with severe psychiatric histories — particularly those recently discharged from psychiatric hospitals — often present greater care challenges than former inmates. That said, we do offer targeted training on geriatric mental health, though not programs specifically focused on the needs of former prisoners. Regarding staff concerns, we addressed them through discussions with our internal multidisciplinary ethics committee. We made a deliberate choice not to create dedicated units for former inmates. Instead, they are integrated across all units. This approach has worked well. Even during our initial admissions, there were some questions, but no significant issues arose. In principle, any prisoner can be granted release for medical reasons or if they are over the age of 70. Is this law effectively applied? Not at all. As I recall, this provision was introduced in 2014 by then-Justice Minister Christiane Taubira. But in reality, many incarcerated individuals over 70 are unable to access release because no care facility is available to receive them. So, despite being on the books, the law remains difficult to apply in practice. Medical parole is granted by a sentencing judge, based on clinical evaluations. However, it only becomes a viable option if a long-term care facility is willing and able to admit the individual. According to the DAP, roughly 80-90 older inmates in France each year would meet the criteria for such release. That is a relatively small number considering the total nursing home capacity nationwide. But the fear of recidivism, especially involving individuals convicted of sexual offenses, remains the primary barrier to placement. France currently has only two nursing homes that accept former inmates — yours and one in Cuiseaux. Should more facilities follow this model? What are the barriers? In addition to the facility in Cuiseaux, a nursing home in the Ardennes began accepting former inmates 2 years ago, and the French Red Cross has also shown interest in participating. Progress is being made, but it remains slow and limited. The biggest barrier is stigma: the fear that someone who has committed a crime may reoffend. Facilities are concerned about how families will react, whether there are safety risks for other residents, and what staff will think. These fears continue to prevent many nursing homes from accepting former inmates. Yet these individuals are often seriously ill and no longer capable of living independently in a prison setting. In some cases, their living conditions behind bars may even be incompatible with basic human dignity. In collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and the DAP, we've presented our model to national networks of nursing home directors to encourage broader participation. I've also met with two large foundations that have committed to supporting these efforts. The idea is starting to gain traction, but significant challenges remain. For older, dependent inmates who remain in prison, what improvements are needed in their medical care? At a minimum, prisons need architectural modifications to better accommodate individuals with physical dependency. In addition, access to in-home nursing services must be significantly improved within prisons and detention facilities. While a few pilot programs exist, the response time for initiating care is approximately four times longer than in the general population. The main barrier is financial. In my view, the most practical solution would be for every nursing home in France to commit to accepting at least one inmate per year. If just 90 facilities nationwide did so, we could resolve this public health challenge. At our facility, for example, we currently house former inmates from Bapaume Prison near Lille. Before being accepted here, they were denied admission by 40-50 nursing homes in their local region.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Older people sick of lonely and vulnerable stereotype - and feel 'bombarded' by TV ads for funerals, study finds
Older people feel they are 'bombarded' by adverts for funeral services, care homes and mobility aids, a new study by the advertising watchdog has found. The elderly are fed up with being 'reduced to outdated stereotypes' depicting them as lonely and vulnerable in TV ads, according to the poll by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). More than a third of the UK population believe that older people are 'negatively stereotyped' in ads which depict them as 'lonely, purposeless or powerless'. And Brits are concerned about how ads are targeted at them, with people aged 55 and over feeling 'bombarded' by promotions for 'funeral or cremation services, life insurance and care homes', especially during daytime television. Beauty ads that suggest people have to 'fight' ageing were singled out by the public as 'potentially harmful', in particular for the 'harm to the self-esteem of women of all ages' they can cause, the poll of more than 4,000 Uk adults found. One male respondent aged between 65 and 74 told researchers: 'I think [ads about looking young] are very patronising. It's saying that you should admire to look young when frankly, I embrace my wrinkles and bald head.' People of all ages told researchers they wanted to see more 'authentic and realistic' portrayals of older people, avoiding depictions of OAPs 'always being wealthy or grumpy', for example. The study says: 'While Britain may have an ageing population, growing older today looks very different from a generation or two ago. 'Older people are not only living longer, but they're also continuing to lead full, active lives, contributing to workplaces, families, communities, and the economy for longer. 'But people in our study told us that too often, advertising paints a very different and outdated picture.' The ASA has previously banned ads that were 'likely to cause offence on the grounds of age' - including a billboard ad for electronic cigarettes depicting an older woman and younger man that suggested this was socially unacceptable. However the independent body, which regulates all forms of advertising in the UK, said that while it was not currently proposing new rules, it had carried out the research to better inform businesses of public opinion around portrayals of ageing. Kam Atwal, research lead at the ASA, said: 'As a society, we're living longer, richer, and more varied lives. Our research reveals that some of today's portrayals of older people in advertising are not being received positively, and that the public want ads to better reflect the varied lives older people lead today.'
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
Older Malaysians in need of integrated eldercare, says Unicef M'sia
The statistics department had previously said Malaysia was expected to reach aged nation status sooner than expected, with over 17% of the population expected to be aged 60 or older in 2040. (Bernama pic) KUALA LUMPUR : A Unicef Malaysia representative said Malaysia's 'fragmented' health and social care systems make it difficult for older Malaysians to receive integrated support. Speaking at a panel session during EPF's International Social Well-being Conference 2025, Unicef Malaysia social policy specialist Lee Min Hui called for more community-based and integrated care infrastructure. 'This would support the growing preference for ageing-in-place among Malaysians,' she said, using the term for continued independent living in the community in old age. 'Right now, the disjointed system makes it hard for individuals to access comprehensive services.' Lee said policies must be inclusive and address a person's needs across their life cycle, pointing out that women were especially vulnerable due to caregiving responsibilities and economic insecurity. She emphasised the need for a 'cradle-to-grave' care economy that recognised unpaid care work and integrated social care into the national social protection framework. Proposing several measures to strengthen the eldercare ecosystem, fellow panellist Dr Jemilah Mahmood said a national contributory healthcare plan and health insurance scheme were crucial to ensuring financial sustainability in elderly care. The executive director of the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health suggested exploring innovative models such as 'time banking', in which one providing care services to the elderly earns credits that can be used to receive care in the future, fostering intergenerational support. Jemilah said civil society organisations should be empowered to design eldercare solutions tailored to local community needs, as they understood community needs well. The statistics department had previously said Malaysia was expected to reach aged nation status sooner than expected, with over 17% of the population expected to be aged 60 or older in 2040. As of last year, this group made up 11.6%, or 3.9 million, of the total population of 34.1 million. By 2057, Malaysia will reach the super-aged society category, with 20.5% projected to be over the age of 60.
