70,000 elderly people get helping hand from ministry

Dr Ahmed Al Hinai added, “Participants in the programme are subjected a comprehensive examination which includes testing and managing their hearing, vision, diabetes, pressure and joint problems, and these screenings are repeated every three years.”

He explained: “The programme seeks to detect the health problems so that they can be treated early to avoid a worsening of the situation. The most important problems experienced by the elderly are hearing problems that lead to social isolation, but the early detection of these problems lead to treatment and improvement of hearing and thus enables the elderly to exercise their social lives better.”

In 2018, 14,810 additional people were enrolled in the Ministry of Health’s elderly care programme, among whom 4.1 per cent suffered from diabetes, 4.6 per cent had hypertension, 4.9 per cent had dyslipidaemias, 1.2 per cent had thyroid disorders, 0.8 per cent had prostate disorders, 0.2 per cent presented malignancies, and 2.4 per cent were diagnosed with other medical issues.

Availability of caregivers

“The programme is a collaboration between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Development, which studies the situation of the elderly from the economic and social perspective and the availability of caregivers at home,” said Dr Al Hinai.

“In the case of the elderly, they sometimes need support, so we collaborate with volunteers from NGOs to visit the elderly who are found to be living alone, and help them take care of their home, provide for their needs and sit with him and follow up on their medication.”

Adding to this, Anuya Phule, a clinical psychotherapist at Hatat Polyclinic, said that old people sometimes felt lonely because

they needed company.

Social isolation

“Elderly people are often found alone, so it is important that we spend time with them,” she said. “Social isolation is not supposed to be good for anyone because it leads to a number of mental ailments including depression, so although all of us are busy in our lives, we must take the time to reach out to old people and spend some time with them. “Even sitting near them, asking them how they are doing, taking an interest in their lives, and listening to them will help, because old people sometimes feel they are not being listened to enough,” she added. “Old people like telling stories and they have a lot of stories to tell, so they are worth listening to.”

The Ministry also provides a community nursing service where the team visits the elderly at home and provides them the necessary medical care.