More efforts should be made to meet the increasing demand for health services for the elderly, says an article in People's Daily. The following is an excerpt:

A neurologist told a conference that a 72-year-old patient had been receiving treatment at his hospital for six months. The man had contracted an apparently incurable disease and was kept alive by respirator. Because his family could not see to his day-to-day care, they refused to take the man home.

It is increasingly common to find elderly patients occupying the beds of hospitals for long periods of time.

The Catch-22-like situation prevents hospitals from taking in new patients. It is a puzzle for not only hospitals, but also patients' families. Who should be taking care of bed-ridden elderly patients?

This issue will become more pressing as the population ages. At the moment, 140 million people in China are over the age of 60. This number is expected to rise to 400 million by 2050. Elderly people have various diseases and need to rely on professional healthcare services. This puts hospitals and families with limited resources in an awkward position.

It might be worthwhile to borrow from the experiences of some Western countries, which have professional institutes that provide assisted living for elderly patients who can take care of themselves. This allows them to get regular medical examinations and health guidance. For those who cannot look after themselves, these institutes can assign professional staff to prepare meals and offer long-term medical and caring services.

China already has some elderly homes, but they usually take in healthy people. Caring for elderly patients is different from providing common services for them. They need medical care, physical therapy and psychological services, which are professional services.

(China Daily December 21, 2007)