Observing the International Day of Older Persons today, the Royal Society for Senior Citizens (RSSC) called for a shift of focus to the health needs of the ageing population.
And doing its part, the society will be implementing the recently released World Health Organization’s (WHO) Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) handbook, in the country.
According to the RSSC, post-retirement, the change in lifestyle including the decline in physical activity and social interaction tend to have adverse impacts on the health of the elderly. As people grow older, their health needs are likely to become more complex and chronic.
Therefore, within this month, the Society plans to train as many people as possible including nurses, health assistants, and even the retirees on the ICOPE handbook. The manual is expected to provide practical guidance to address priority conditions including mobility limitations, malnutrition, vision and hearing loss, cognitive decline, depressive symptoms and social care and support.
“The first concern is one’s health. If you have a healthy body, without any problem, you can work, you can do business and make profits. In that way, we will be able to look after our family. After retirement, staying healthy is important. It is important to do whatever you want to. Health is more important. Therefore people say health is wealth.
“You don’t have to be a doctor. It can be generally done by the nurses, can be done by the health assistants, and the senior citizens. Even you can do it. I can do it. And the nurse at the BHU can do it in the countryside. And what a great help it would be. This is a new programme being launched by WHO. So what we need to have now are a few trainers to be trained like retired doctors, retired health officers or senior people who are interested to do this. They can be trained and send them to dzongkhags” Lyonpo Dago Tshering, the President for RSSC.
He added that the government should also explore retirement employment opportunities for older people. This will help promote healthy ageing as they will be able to earn, stay physically active and be part of the society.
Samten Dolkar
