The future of elderly care
Ultimately, it seems to me that the long-term care insurance system is providing care for the elderly en masse under the banner of the “socialization of care,” in order to keep citizens working with the economy as the top priority, even as the workforce continues to shrink due to the declining birthrate and the aging population. However, now that I have actually worked in various care facilities and am able to consider several alternatives, when I reflect on how the elderly are treated in the name of “care” and how much it actually costs to care for them, I cannot help but wonder whether the economy is truly being prioritized in any meaningful sense. Indeed, above all, I find myself asking why people are working so hard in the first place. I suspect that many people find this question difficult to accept, and that is precisely why I would like to hear each individual’s honest thoughts on it. If millions, or even tens of millions, of yen are spent, along with an enormous amount of time and energy, without the elderly person in need of care even feeling any sense of gratitude, or if such large sums of money are spent to keep them in a facility against their will despite their desire to return home, then this is probably not what the elderly clients and residents themselves truly hope for. In such cases, I believe that those of us who pay long-term care insurance premiums cannot help but feel that something is wrong. In my own case, if my parents were to need care in the future, even setting aside the time and energy involved and considering only the financial cost, I do not think I would be able to provide them with care in a paid nursing home using long-term care insurance, as was done for my paternal grandmother, since this would cost hundreds of thousands of yen per month. This is because, under the banner of “doing research,” I have worked only part-time at best and have not had a stable income. However, at the same time, I believe that, having accumulated a fair amount of experience in elderly care, I might be able to help them lead more satisfying later lives while relying less on long-term care insurance and at a lower overall cost.
(translated version of the post on November 26, 2022)
高齢者介護の未来
結局、少子化・高齢化により、就労可能人員がだんだんと減少しつつある中で、経済を最優先し国民に一生懸命働いてもらうために、介護の社会化と称して高齢者をまとめてお預かりしているかのように私には感じられてしまう介護保険制度なのですが、さまざまな介護事業所で実際に介護職を経験して、いくつかの選択肢を考えることができる今、“介護”という名のもとに高齢者がどのように扱われ、そして実際に高齢者の介護にどれだけの費用がかかっているかを考えますと、本当に経済が最優先されているのだろうかと心の底では思わざるを得ませんし、なによりも、何のためにみんな一生懸命働いているのか、国民は納得できないのではないかと私などは思ってしまうのですが、みなさんは実際のところどう思っているのか聞いてみたいところです。もし何百万円、何千万円の費用と莫大なエネルギーと時間をかけて、介護を必要としている高齢者本人には結局感謝もされなかったり、嫌で嫌で帰りたがっているのに無理やり施設にとどめておくことにこれだけの費用がかかっているとするならば、高齢の利用者本人にとっても本意ではないでしょうし、介護保険料を払っている私たちとしても何か感じるものがあるはずだと思います。私の場合、将来両親に介護が必要になったとするならば、時間やエネルギーのことは別にして、費用の面だけを考えてみましても、父方の祖母のように月に何十万円もかかってしまう有料老人ホームで介護保険を使った介護を受けさせてあげることはできないと思っています。研究していると称して、せいぜいアルバイトくらいしかこれまでしたことがなく、安定した収入があまり得られなかったためですが、しかし同時に、介護を一応一通り経験してきた自分であれば、介護保険をあまり使わずに、費用はあまりかからないけれども、それでもずっと満足のいく老後を送らせてあげることができるのではないかと思っているためでもあります。
(2022年11月26日のポストを再掲）