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Increasing life expectancy in the country has led to demands of opening facilities for tending to the elderly. The Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) is now planning to setup a geriatric hospital and rehabilitation centre that would provide comprehensive care to elderly patients in the region. PGI officials say a 325-bedded centre will come up on the PGI campus and a proposal would be soon sent to Union Health Ministry. “The Union Health Ministry has recognised the need and thus there is plan to provide such a facility. The Institute would propose to create a separate 325-bedded hospital with dedicated staff to look after these patients which will definitely improve the health status of an elderly,” said a a senior PGI official.
A detail project report has been prepared by the PGI administration.
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The centre will include acute medical care in hospital, and long term chronic medical care and rehabilitation through outdoor patient department facilities and home visits by social workers.
“The percentage of elderly population is increasing worldwide. Elderly population in India has increased in the recent decades from 7.4% (77 million) in 2001 to estimated proportion of 10.7% by 2021 ( 144 million ).. the older persons’ segment above the age of 80 years is the fastest growing segment. This specific group of population is dependent upon younger population for most of their needs and are socially neglected in most of the cases,” reads the project report prepared by PGI.
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According to PGI doctors, geriatrics differs from standard adult medicine because it focuses on the unique needs of elderly persons. “In old age most of the persons are on two-three drugs for various complaints such as hypertension, diabetes… thus require specific attention to their medication,” said a PGI doctor.
As per 2011 Census, the number of elderly persons was nearly 104 million. A report on elderly in India-profile and programmes 2016 released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation says “In the last one decade, however, that is between 2001 and 2011, the growth in elderly population has shot up to 36 per cent while the same was 25 per cent in the earlier decade.”
At PGI, currently, the elderly patients are managed by various departments, but there are no specialised beds at the Institute.
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“Increase in life expectancy of Indian population, the number of elderly patients attending PGI and other medical institutions is also on the increase… the aim to setup this centre is to provide affordable and accessible health care of better quality to elderly through outpatient and inpatient services,” the doctor said, adding that the Institute also wants to develop facilities to provide health care to elderly population staying at remote areas.
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