"Strengthen Short-Term Elderly Care Services" Human Rights Commission Recommendation Accepted by Ministry of Health and Local Governments

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The Ministry of Health and Welfare and other agencies have accepted the National Human Rights Commission's recommendation to strengthen the public nature of elderly care services to guarantee short-term protection for the elderly.

On the 14th, the Human Rights Commission announced that the Ministry of Health and Welfare and heads of metropolitan local governments had responded with implementation plans indicating their acceptance of the Commission's recommendation.

Last August, the Human Rights Commission recommended to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and each metropolitan local government to appropriately provide short-term protection services through direct management, consigned institutions, or the use of Social Service Centers, thereby strengthening the public nature of elderly care services.

In response, the Ministry of Health and Welfare reported that it is conducting a "pilot project for short-term protection within day and night care institutions" by combining short-term protection functions with existing day and night care institutions to expand service accessibility and infrastructure for short-term protection. Metropolitan local governments also submitted implementation plans to ▲provide short-term protection services within day and night care facilities ▲review the installation and operation of short-term protection services in directly managed and consigned facilities ▲utilize Social Service Centers by local governments.

Additionally, the Ministry of Health and Welfare took measures to enable stable provision of short-term protection services by removing the expiration date of the special provision that limited short-term protection benefits under the Long-term Care Insurance for the Elderly to within 15 days per month.

The Human Rights Commission held a standing committee meeting on the 30th of last month and judged that these entities had accepted the improvement recommendations. The Commission stated, "We hope that the government and metropolitan local governments' plans will be implemented smoothly so that the public nature of elderly care services can be further strengthened."

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