SIBU: The changing social landscape is seeing an increasing demand for professional care of the elderly.
Stating this, Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) deputy chairman Daniel Ngieng said the conventional notion of caring for the elderly was also changing over time.
“Though the underlying notion of filial piety has not changed, the approach is taking a different form which is in tandem with the new environment.
For instance, the living together under the same roof is no longer considered the best way to some families who have sick and bed-ridden parents or other more elderly folk,” he said when addressing the opening ceremony of 360 Degree Happy Lohas Resort at YMCA centre here yesterday.
360 Degree Happy Lohas Resort is a special centre which caters to the needs of the more elderly group of people who require special attention and care.
Ngieng said even with the help of housemaids, there was a growing demand for quality life and more professional care for the elderly.
Therefore, he said in recent times, the establishment of special nursing homes for the elderly was gaining both acceptance and popularity.
“To some people, nursing homes for the elderly run contrary to our culture. This, however, has been challenged by more people who promote a more pragmatic but also a more caring approach for the elderly.
“The society at large has come to terms with the changing social pattern. By placing the elderly in some professionally managed centres, it is in fact giving more love and better care to the elderly whose health conditions require that specialised services,” he explained.
By leaving bed-ridden elderly at home accompanied only by their servant maids most of the time was not necessary a good thing, he said, adding that people need companions or peer groups to enrich their lives.
Ngieng added that they also needed activities which were tailored to their physical condition so that their time could be spent more meaningfully and joyously.
360 Degree Lohas Resort is established with this in mind.