Amid the government’s push of its long-term care services program 2.0, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that laying a foundation is crucial for any reform and cannot be rushed.
Tsai made the remarks at a long-term care workers experience sharing session held by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taipei, saying that the program must be established, because Taiwan is gradually becoming an aging society.
“Establishing a findable, visible, usable and affordable long-term care service system is a very important policy of the administration,” she said. “Long-term care workers are the most important human resources in the system.”
Tsai tablked about her experience of being unemployed and caring for her mother at home, saying she deeply feels that long-term care workers need not only a caring heart and patience, but a profession.
The most important aspect in popularizing and providing affordable long-term care services is to create demand and supply, she said, adding that the central government would take the lead by allocating a budget and integrating local resources to create the initial environment.
“The works are like laying the foundation when building a house: You will only see flying dirt and dust in the short run, but we must lay a solid foundation so the house can stand firm,” she said.
“I know everyone is eager for reform, but being hasty will not solve problems. Only by steadily moving forward one step at a time can we solve these issues properly, and pushing the program forward works toward that end,” Tsai said.
A long-term care technology unit has been established to enhance long-term care services, Minister of Health and Welfare Lin Tzou-yien (林奏延) said.
The source of the long-term care workforce should be diversified to include not only graduates of 65 related school departments, but also older people who want to return to work, Lin said, adding that men, immigrants and young people would be welcome.
The ministry is working toward increasing wages for care workers to attract more people to join the workforce, he said.
As most young people tend to prefer stable monthly salaries, while older people prefer hourly wages for part-time jobs, both systems would be adopted, with payment standards to be decided this week, he said.
Cooperation with local long-term care facilities will be changed from bidding to contract terms, so that the facilities can receive funding sooner to pay their employees, he said.
“Aside from an aging society, we also face the serious problem of a low birth rate, and in the long run we will never have sufficient long-term care services personnel, so we need technology’s help,” Lin said, with the new unit working toward enhancing services through technology.
Three long-term care workers shared their experiences at the session, including a 28-year-old woman surnamed Lin (林), who worked at an accountant’s office after graduating from university, but quit that job and became a full-time long-term care worker at a nursing home two years ago.
Providing care to older people has enriched her soul, giving her a sense of achievement by taking care of them and allowing them to live out their lives in a comfortable environment, she said.
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