Senior-Care Homes on the Rise in India

Bangalore:  The inattention towards old age people is increasing widely in our country. India, beside its rich heritage of extended family and family values now tends to prefer small families. This has now resulted in the rise of old age homes in India. The trend is more visible in urban families who neglect traditional concept of grandparents, parents and children under one roof. Finance plays a vital role in the changing trends since more professionals work abroad or in large Indian cities are too busy to care for aging parents.

Major cities in India are gradually moving towards elder care facilities which are most common in the western societies. Interestingly many older people also choose to live with others of their age rather than the discordant life with their grown up children.

The growing suicide rate of people older 60 is a proof to the desertion, physical and mental abuse and depression faced by these elders. As per 2010 census 11,100 people above the age of 60 committed suicides and that is a 20 percent increase from 2008 statistics.

India was rated last among forty nations, even behind Uganda, on “end-of-life care services,” in a recent survey conducted by Economist magazine. The end-of-life care services include access to drugs and caregivers. It is also important to note that only few medical colleges in India teach geriatrics. The numbers of people who are covered by pension are also below 15 percent in our country.

The number of people over 60 is now at 96 million and it is estimated that by 2030 the number will increase to double. It is high time for the government to be aware of the demographic shift than can happen in the future.