Gyeonggi-do Human Rights Commission Recommends Policies Including 'Customized Meal Provision' for Elderly Care Facilities

More than three out of ten elderly care facilities in Gyeonggi Province were found to lack their own guidelines regarding physical restrictions on admitted elderly residents.

On the 23rd, the Gyeonggi Provincial Human Rights Commission announced the results of the "2024 Elderly Care Facility Resident Human Rights Survey," which included this information, and recommended eight improvement measures, including the establishment of guidelines on physical freedom restrictions, to Governor Kim Dong-yeon of Gyeonggi Province.

According to the survey results, out of 200 elderly care facilities, 130 (65.0%) had their own guidelines on physical restrictions (such as isolation and use of physical restraints), while 70 (35.0%) did not.

Regarding the maintenance of residents' health, 72 facilities (36.0%) did not have meal plans considering conditions such as diabetes or hypertension, and 86 facilities (43.0%) lacked outdoor activity programs for elderly residents with mobility difficulties.

Regarding the guarantee of voting rights allowing free voting during election periods, 38.4% responded negatively. Additionally, among the 31 cities and counties, only four?Seongnam, Pocheon, Ansan, and Gapyeong?operated the external monitoring system for elderly care facilities known as "Ingwon Jikimi" (Honorary Elderly Welfare Guardians).

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

In response, the Provincial Human Rights Commission recommended eight improvement measures to the governor: ▲establishing guidelines to guarantee self-determination rights at the admission stage ▲inspecting the installation and operation status of complaint boxes for the National Human Rights Commission ▲creating facility-specific regulations related to physical freedom restrictions ▲providing customized meal plans considering elderly diseases ▲promoting outdoor activities and guaranteeing diverse religious activities ▲ensuring voting rights such as guidance on absentee voting ▲expanding the operation of Ingwon Jikimi ▲and reviewing appropriate administrative actions by cities and counties against facilities judged to have committed elder abuse.

This survey was conducted by the Provincial Human Rights Center and the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation of Seoul Theological University from August last year for three months. They visited 200 elderly care facilities in the province and surveyed a total of 1,395 people, including 396 elderly residents, 398 guardians, and 601 facility staff, through questionnaires and in-depth interviews.

Choi Hyun-jung, the Human Rights Officer of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "Through this survey, we were able to propose improvement measures to enhance human rights in elderly care facilities in the province," and added, "We will continue to strive to ensure that the rights of the elderly are protected."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.