【12/29新聞想想】長照人力短缺 日本補助機器人照護
《朝日新聞》報導，由於人口快速老化而照護工短缺，日本政府最快於明年2月起，將對使用機器人的照護機構提供52億日圓補助，以減輕現有照護工的體力負擔。
依據現有規畫，每一家長照機構最多可獲得300萬日圓補助採購機器人，採取租用者未來可能也會納入補助範圍。這些機器人可用來協助照護工移動老人，幫助老人如廁、洗澡，同時監控患有失智症老人的行蹤。
日本業者目前全力投入機器人開發與生產，但造價不低，一部協助老人如廁的機器人就要200萬日圓，協助老人起身的機器人則要60萬日圓。如果採取租用，每個月費用也要10萬日圓以上。
日本政府估計，未來10年需要照護協助的國民將增加170萬人，照護工短缺則為38萬人。目前照護工多人有背痛等職業傷害。
Government to subsidize robots to help caregivers with laborious elderly care
Amid a rapidly aging society and a shortage of caregivers, the government will soon be offering financial assistance for elderly nursing facilities to employ high-end care robots.
Starting as early as February, the government subsidies will cover the cost of robots, from 200,000 yen ($1,660) or more, which can reduce workers' laborious burdens and alleviate a workforce shortage at care facilities.
The designated robots will include those designed to help caretakers lift the elderly, move them between rooms, assist their toilet and bathing needs and keep track of patients with dementia who are prone to wandering.
The health and welfare ministry has requested 5.2 billion yen for the assistance program in the fiscal 2015 supplementary budget and will start the program once it is approved.
A maximum 3 million yen in subsidies will be provided to each elderly care facility through municipal governments. The ministry is also considering granting subsidies to facilities when they lease care robots.
Japanese manufacturers are scrambling to develop nursing-care robots amid the serious workforce shortage in the elderly care industry, but these robots can be expensive, potentially preventing care facilities from introducing them at their own expense.
For example, a robot to assist caregivers in giving clients in need of assistance a bath can cost 2 million yen, while a machine to help lift the elderly costs about 600,000 yen. Leasing these advanced machines can also cost 100,000 yen or more per month.
The ministry forecasts that the number of people in need of nursing care will increase by 1.7 million over the next decade through fiscal 2025, creating a shortage of about 380,000 care workers that year.
Exhausting working conditions at care facilities have also been a problem plaguing the industry, and many caregivers reportedly suffer from back pain and job-related illnesses.
To study how nursing-care robots can alleviate caregivers’ burdens, the government will designate 10 model facilities that plan to introduce robots, grant them subsidies and monitor their efforts to streamline the workload.
沒有留言:
張貼留言