Reduced Use Of Care Services Puts Seniors At Risk
Some elderly citizens in Japan have refrained from using nursing care services as the country faces its third-wave surge of coronavirus cases.
Care providers are concerned that reduced use of the services could cause the physical and mental function of the elderly to deteriorate, which happened last year.
A woman in her 80's lives alone in Tokyo. She used to go to a day care facility once a week to exercise and chat with others.
But she stopped using the services in December after coronavirus cases began to surge. Since then, the woman has mostly stayed at home.
She says she now has difficulty with walking as her muscles have weakened. She also has refrained from going to a hospital for treatment of her heart disease.
The woman says she is not going to day care or hospitals because she is more afraid of contracting the virus than she is about her health worsening.
Makino Hiromi is a manager at an office providing home-visit nursing care services. She says the elderly have begun to stop using nursing care services amid the third wave of infections as they did last year.
Makino says that her clients who have reduced their use of the services show declines in their physical function. Some can no longer put on their socks on their own, while others complain of trouble breathing when they climb steps.
Makino says lack of communication with others has contributed to declines in seniors' cognitive function.
She says so far two of her clients have decided not to use nursing care services, and others might do the same as they fear a rising risk of infection.
Makino says that she wants to support them by providing home-based services as long as she can. She also wants the central and local governments to pay attention to challenges that service providers are facing.