With the serious aging of the population in the mainland, many people predict that nursing homes will be the next "era dividend", but this is not the case!
Now the nursing homes that should be overcrowded, but many elderly people are withdrawing one after another, and some nursing homes are experiencing operational difficulties, and finally have to apply for cancellation.
So, why is this happening?
The sources of information in this article have been repeated at the end of the article, and in order to improve the readability of the article, the details may be polished, and are for reference only
In a nursing home in the western suburbs of Beijing, Aunt Wang, 73, sits on a bench in the courtyard and basks in the sun.
Her eyes looked through the iron fence and at the tall buildings in the distance, and her eyes revealed some complicated emotions.
Three years ago, Aunt Wang moved into the nursing home with great expectations, but now she is considering whether to move back home.
Aunt Wang's story is a microcosm of the current predicament faced by China's pension industry.
With the population over the age of 60 approaching the 300 million mark in 2024, the aging of the population is becoming more serious, and the demand for elderly care is showing explosive growth.
However, many nursing homes are facing the embarrassing situation of low occupancy rates.
Looking back on the development process in recent years, nursing homes were once regarded as an emerging solution to the dilemma of family care.
Children are often unable to take care of the elderly around the clock due to their busy work, coupled with the changes in the modern family structure, single-child families generally face the "421" dilemma.
The emergence of nursing homes has solved a big problem for this situation.
At first, nursing homes were indeed favored by quite a few elderly people.
According to an interview program, many elderly people are full of praise for the professional care and rich activities they provide after being admitted to a nursing home. Some seniors even say that the quality of life in nursing homes is much better than at home.
However, the craze didn't last long.
In recent years, a "wave of hospital closures" has quietly hit, and many nursing homes are facing operational difficulties.
According to the survey data of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the overall occupancy rate of the city's 571 elderly care institutions will be only 38% by 2023. Although this number is not small, you must know that there are more than 500 elderly care institutions, and the occupancy rate is less than half.
Although the problem of aging is more serious, the demand for elderly care is not proportional to the occupancy rate of nursing homes.
In fact, it is not that those elderly people do not want to go to nursing homes for the elderly, but there are many reasons for this.
Economic factors are undoubtedly the number one reason that prevents many elderly people from being admitted to nursing homes.
The fee standard of the nursing home is not low, after all, it is necessary to prepare the clothing, food, housing and transportation of the elderly, as well as entertainment and medical care.
In Beijing, for example, the monthly basic cost of some medium-sized nursing homes is more than 5,000 yuan, while the cost of high-end nursing homes may exceed 10,000 yuan.
For many elderly people, they undoubtedly cannot afford it, whether they have a pension or not.
At the same time, prices are rising, and many nursing homes have had to lower their service standards to maintain operations.
Some planned recreational activities have been cancelled, and medical services have been difficult to improve due to financial constraints.
This vicious cycle further reduces the attractiveness of nursing homes.
However, economic considerations are not the only considerations.
The impact of the epidemic in the early years made many young people choose to work from home or lose their jobs at home, which unexpectedly increased their time and energy to take care of the elderly.
This change has caused some families who were originally considering placing their elderly in nursing homes to reconsider the possibility of home-based aging.
In addition, with the improvement of the education level of the younger generation and the change of family structure, the ability to take care of children is also improving.
For families with better financial conditions, hiring a nanny has become another option.
Hire a full-time nanny who can not only take care of the daily life of the elderly, but also take care of household chores.
However, not all elderly people can enjoy such treatment.
For those elderly people with average economic conditions and children who cannot take care of them around the clock, home care still faces many challenges.
Problems such as the imperfection of community elderly care services and the lack of medical resources have made the life of this part of the elderly full of uncertainty.
Against this backdrop, many nursing homes are slowly being forced to close. According to incomplete statistics, in the past two years, a number of nursing homes in first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have been closed due to operational difficulties.
This phenomenon not only affects the current supply of elderly care services, but also casts a shadow on the future development of the entire industry.
In the face of such a predicament, industry insiders have called for nursing homes to reform and innovate in many aspects.
First of all, to improve the quality of service, nursing homes should provide more personalized and humanized services according to the actual needs of the elderly.
For example, some nursing homes have begun to try to introduce new services such as psychological counseling and art therapy, which have been welcomed by the elderly.
Secondly, it is also crucial to build brand image and word-of-mouth. In the information age, the quality of a nursing home will quickly spread through the Internet.
Therefore, pension institutions need to pay more attention to the shaping of their own image and win reputation through high-quality services.
In addition, operating costs are also key to the survival and development of nursing homes.
However, solving the problem of elderly care cannot rely solely on the efforts of nursing homes themselves.
The government should increase policy support and financial investment in the pension industry, improve relevant laws and regulations, and create a good environment for the development of the industry.
All sectors of society need to change their concepts, correctly view the choice of institutional pension, and eliminate the prejudice that "sending parents to nursing homes is unfilial".
It's equally important for individuals and families to plan ahead and plan ahead.
Now the streets are full of elderly people, and seeing them is like seeing your future self.
As for the pension plan, this includes not only financial preparation, but also the understanding and choice of various pension models.
In the face of the increasingly severe challenge of aging, each of us should take action to care for the elderly around us and provide help within our ability.
Whether it's to your parents or to the elderly living alone in the community, a phone call or a visit can bring warmth and comfort to their lives.
The issue of pension is a complex social issue, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
But as long as we work together, I believe that in the near future, every elderly person can find their own way to care for the elderly and enjoy a happy and happy old age.
Resources
The Economic Observer - "Five Nursing Home Directors Operate Self-Reports: This Is Not a Profitable Business"
Yangcheng faction - "How to solve the wave of rural nursing home withdrawal? 丨Times Review》
Shangguan News - "In Shanghai Nursing Homes, There Are Fewer and Fewer Elderly People? 》