Lok Sabha Question No. 239 (STARRED), answered on 2017-08-01
Subject: Home Care Services for Senior Citizens
Ministry: SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
Asked by: A.T. (NANA) PATIL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT LOK SABHA

STARRED QUESTION NO.  *239 TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.08.2017

## HOME CARE SERVICES FOR SENIOR CITIZENS

*239. SHRI A.T. NANA PATIL:

## Will the Minister of SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has chalked out any mechanism to regulate home care services for the elderly being offered by various private firms;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c)  the  fresh  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  prescribe  standards  for  establishing  and providing quality services to senior Citizens?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT (SHRI THAAWARCHAND GEHLOT)

- (a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

*****

## Statement referred to in reply to Parts (a) to  (c)  of  Lok Sabha  Starred  Question  No. *239 to be answered on 01.08.2017.

(a) to (c) Yes, Sir. This Ministry is considering a proposal for rating of Home Care Services for Senior Citizens and registration of such Service Providers.

The proposal for rating of the organisations providing Home Care Services to elderly was one of the recommendations of the Group of Secretaries on Education and Social Development constituted  by  the  Government.  It  is  proposed  to  prescribe  standards  in  respect  of  various services to be provided by the Home Care Service Providers to the Senior Citizens and to rate them  according  to  the facilities  being  provided,  through  suitable  amendment  to  the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (MWPSC) Act, 2007.

One of the main objectives of the National Institute of Social Defence, an autonomous body under  the  Ministry  of  Social  Justice  and  Empowerment,  is  capacity  building.  Certification courses  for  training  Geriatric  Care  Givers  are  conducted  by  NISD  and  other  collaborating Institutes.

- I) All Regional Resource and Training Centres and other collaborating agencies providing training to develop geriatric caregivers have been directed to apply for accreditation as Training Centre for Home Health Aide Qualification Pack and  get affiliated to Healthcare Sector Skill Council ( SSC) under National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).
2. II) Healthcare  SSC  has  also  been  requested  to  develop  separate  Module  for Geriatric Caregivers as the existing Qualification pack of Home Health Aide is not exclusive for the senior citizens.
3. III) 120 geriatric givers are being trained by Apollo Medskills Limited, a unit of Apollo Hospitals Group.

As  per  information  furnished  by  National  Skill  Development  Corporation  (NSDC),  the Corporation  is  offering  training  courses  in  elderly  home  care  services  through  two  of  its Sector Skill Councils. These are National Skill Qualifications Framework (NSQF) -aligned courses under the Ministry of Sill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). The details are in Appendix-I.

As per information furnished by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, in so far as health care  of  the  elderly  is  concerned,  the  Ministry  of  Health  &  Family  Welfare  had  launched "National Programme for the Health Care of Elderly" (NPHCE) during 2010-11 to address various health related problems of elderly people. The major objectives of the NPHCE are establishment  of  Department  of  Geriatric    in  identified  Medical  Institutions  as  Regional Geriatric  Centres  for  different  regions  of  the  country  and  to  provide  dedicated  health facilities in District Hospitals, Community Health Centres(CHCs), Primary Health Centres(PHCs)  and  Sub-Centres(SCs)  levels  through  State  Health  Society.  Following facilities are being provided under the Programme:

- Geriatric OPD, 30 bedded Geriatric ward for in-patient care, etc at Regional Geriatric Centres.
- Geriatric OPD and 10 bedded Geriatric Ward at District Hospitals.
- Bi-weekly Geriatric Clinic at Community health Centres (CHCs).
- Weekly Geriatric Clinic at Primary Health Centre (PHCs).
- Provision of Aids and Appliances at Sub-centres.

## Details of Training Courses offered in Elderly Home Care Services by NSDC.

|    |                      |                                  |            | PMKVY1*   | PMKVY1*   | PMKVY1*   | PMKVY1*   | PMKVY2**   | PMKVY2**   | PMKVY2**   | PMKVY2**   | PMKVY2**   |
|----|----------------------|----------------------------------|------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|
| Sl | Sector Skill Council | Name of the QP                   | NSQF Level | Enrolled  | Trained   | Assessed  | Certified | Enrolled   | Trained    | Assessed   | Certified  | Placed     |
| 1  | Domestic Worker      | Elderly Caretaker (Non-Clinical) | 3          | 0         | 0         | 0         | 0         | 325        | 240        | 208        | 195        | 17         |
| 2  | Healthcare           | Home Health Aide                 | 4          | 4314      | 4314      | 4227      | 2840      | 3350       | 2601       | 2145       | 1710       | 1034       |

*PMKVY 1: Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, initial scheme implemented during 2014-15.

**PMKVY 2: Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, being implemented during 2016-20.

## Appendix-I