CẦN THƠ — The Cần Thơ City People’s Committee plans to set up action programmes for healthcare services for old people to improve the quality of their life and foster social development.

Geriatric wards will be improved at all general hospitals around the city.

The Department of Health plans to build and expand health facilities, especially with family doctors so seniors can access easily, including in rural areas.

Courses on caring for old people will be offered to students at medical universities and workers in charge of population, health and social affairs.

Speaking at a conference on welfare programmes for old people amid an ageing population in Mekong Delta city on Monday, the committee’s vice chairman, Lê Văn Tâm, said like other provinces and cities in the country, Cần Thơ has an ageing population and related challenges like paying pensions, social welfare, health insurance, and demand for healthcare services loom.

One of tasks it has prioritised is adopting policies for growth, economic development and social welfare to improve old people’s incomes, he said.

The city aims to change the pension payment system under a road map to ensure fairness and solvency of the retirement fund, he added.

The Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs will expand the social insurance system to improve public coverage and keep it flexible to match everyone’s needs.

It will collaborate with local agencies to encourage old people, especially those with professional skills, to continue working to make use of their capabilities to train younger generations.

It will increase social welfare for vulnerable seniors, ensuring no one is left out and everyone’s minimum living needs are met.

It will work with other relevant agencies to set up more social welfare centres for old people, especially financially disadvantaged ones and those who made outstanding contributions to the national independence.

It will have more preferential policies such as tariff waivers for private social welfare centres.

Nguyễn Hoàng Mai, deputy head of the National Assembly’s Committee for Social Affairs, hailed the city’s plans.

He added that activities to take care of old people should be held more frequently and there the seniors should also be told about policies and asked for their opinions. — VNS