EDITORIAL: Nursing-care problems

Poor, physically weak elderly people with no family are being abandoned.

The fire that killed 10 residents of Tamayura, a nursing home for the elderly in Shibukawa, Gunma Prefecture, in March 2009 partially shed light on their plight.

At night, the home was locked from the outside and only one staff member was on duty. The building, which did not have a fire alarm, was quickly engulfed in flames because the extension to the structure was built with plywood.

Earlier this month, the head of the nonprofit organization that ran the home and a director of the facility were arrested on charges of professional negligence resulting in death.

Six of the victims were receiving welfare benefits from Tokyo's Sumida Ward.

According to sources, they came to Tamayura after being turned away by special nursing homes and other facilities in Tokyo. To improve the situation, the Tokyo metropolitan government decided to build more low-rent homes for the elderly that provide meal services and have staff members on duty around the clock.

But low-income earners and elderly people with no family are not the only ones facing difficulties because of a shortage of places where they can live in peace and receive sufficient care.

Nursing care is also a serious problem for the middle class and people who are relatively well off.

For example, with a rise in the number of applicants seeking admission at special nursing homes, 420,000 people are now on waiting lists across the nation. The figure corresponds to the total capacity of existing special nursing homes. Unless the number of facilities is doubled, the "invisible line of nursing refugees" will not disappear.

Pay nursing homes charge high initial and monthly fees. Under the revised health-care system, it is difficult for elderly people to remain in a hospital over a long period. They are usually required to move to other hospitals in about three months.

Many people want to be looked after at home. However, under the current nursing insurance system, they cannot receive adequate nursing care. As a result, family members are forced to bear a heavy burden in many cases.

Fatigue is spreading among those families. The fact that a growing number of people are applying to special nursing homes can be regarded as a reflection of such circumstances.

The administration of Yukio Hatoyama must not turn a blind eye to this situation. It should do everything it can to secure places where elderly people can receive care free from anxiety.

What is most needed is to build additional facilities, such as special nursing homes and group homes, to accommodate them and to improve services.

The government should drastically increase subsidies to improve facilities and staffing.

We urge the administration to show its determination to take action, even if it needs to secure funds with future tax hikes, not to mention cutting wasteful spending. To solve the shortage of nursing homes in urban areas, regulations should be eased to encourage new entries in the business.

One possible option is to make nursing homes or day-care centers out of elementary school buildings that have closed down because of a decrease in the number of children.

As part of efforts to improve the quality of services and the safety of facilities, inspections and guidance by local governments and experts should be enhanced.

Such measures are not only useful in creating jobs but would also benefit the economy as a whole because fewer people would quit or take time off from work to care for elderly relatives at home.

Prime Minister Hatoyama repeatedly spoke about "life" in his policy speech. We urge him to take action.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 25