Ministry to upgrade elderly care
The Commerce Ministry vows to promote and upgrade elderly care-related business as demand grows for home care and nursing homes.
Deputy Commerce Minister Weerasak Wangsuphakijkosol said the ministry aims to beef up support and upgrade businesses related to the ageing society this year.
Mr Weerasak said the Business Development Department is supporting and enhancing entrepreneurs upgrading the quality of their elderly care services to international standards, including professionalised management.
The department has been assigned under the “Well Being” initiative to provide more in-depth knowledge about marketing, laws and regulations; business administration; financial management and accounting in the hope of meeting international standards.
He said the ministry will also consult the Board of Investment about privileges offered for investment in products and services for the elderly.
“This year the ministry will focus particularly on home care businesses because they still have weak points,” said Mr Weerasak. “Workers in senior care services still lack knowledge of international standards.”
He said Thailand is among the Asian nations with the highest proportion of elderly after Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
The country’s senior care services are considered insufficient for the 13 million people who will be 60 or older this year, said Mr Weerasak. That figure is expected to grow to 18 million in 2030.
There are around 800 senior care operators, 34.1% of which are juristic persons with a combined registered capital of 1.53 billion baht. The remaining 527 operators are individuals. The senior care business includes residential homes, assisted living and nursing homes.
In 2019, the senior home care business was estimated at 902 million baht, a rise of 10% from 810 million in 2018.
“Elderly-related businesses are interesting and have promising prospects in the long term,” he said.