Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam has emphasised the need to provide better health care services for the elderly by standardizing the care available in health facilities and the community.— VNS/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam has emphasised the need to provide better health care services for the elderly by standardizing the care available in health facilities and the community.

The country should develop models of family clinics and geriatric hospitals and strengthen nursing staff for the elderly, he said at a conference held in Hà Nội on Monday to discuss community-based healthcare for the elderly on the occasion of International Day of Elderly People (October 1).

Đam told participants that Việt Nam has implemented policies to care for and promote the respect of the elderly. As a result, the life expectancy of Vietnamese people has increased significantly.

Việt Nam has over 10 million old people, accounting for 11 per cent of the country’s population. Over 2 million of the elderly are over 80 years old.

The Deputy PM stressed the need to promote the role of the elderly in the society, noting that respect is an important component of quality care.

Raising awareness about the needs of the aging population should be included in national development and social welfare programme, he said.

He also suggested expanding nursing houses suitable to Vietnamese traditions and focusing on tackling chronic diseases among the elderly.

Participants attending the conference discussed strategies to increase the availability of health care services, manage chronic diseases and take care of the elderly in their communities.

Addressing the conference, Deputy Minister Phạm Lê Tuấn said as many as 6.6 million of elderly Vietnamese people, or 65.7 per cent, live in rural areas and rely on farming.

As one of the countries with the fastest-growing ageing rate, Việt Nam records an average life expectancy of 73 years, but the good health span — the number of years the average person can expect to be relatively free of life-impacting ailments — is only 64 years.

Tuấn proposed that the health sector should increase investment in projects to build a friendly environment for old people and promote the role of the elderly within their families and communities. — VNS