City dad pushing for home care aid

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Councilor Alvin Dizon has pushed for home care support services to indigent persons with severe disability and seriously-ill senior citizens.

In the proposed ordinance, Dizon seeks to establish a system of home care support services to be spearheaded by the barangay to provide support to persons with disability (PWD), terminally-ill, bed ridden indigent senior citizens and their families, who cannot afford the high cost treatment of the services in private health care institution or care givers or personal assistants.

Dizon said that there are PWDs and senior citizens who are in dire need of urgent care and assistance from the government, given the severity of their disabilities and the serious nature of their physical conditions due to debilitating illness.

Under the proposed ordinance, it said that the current public health care services of the State usually do not include home services and hospice care to bedridden and terminally-ill senior citizens and PWD.

Administrative Orders 04 and 05 that the Department of Social Welfare and Development has issued provides guidelines on the home care support services for senior citizens and general implementing guidelines on long term care program for senior citizens.

This ordinance seeks to lessen the anxiety of the patients and their family members in terms of having to worry about the health care and services; and to provide additional assistance to those who are in need of particular attention given their conditions that needs to be addressed by the government.

Under Section 4 of the proposed ordinance, the Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) is mandated to create a Home Care Service Support Council in every barangay.

Section 5, on the other hand, requires mandatory trainings and seminar to be conducted by the DSWS and the City Health Office to equip the implementers with knowledge and skills.

Dizon said that hospice care services in home setting are attuned to the Filipino family’s tradition of taking care of their own sick family members.

There are least 9,986 PWDs registered and around 77,000 registered senior citizens in Cebu City.

Citing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities, the Department of Health said PWDs are those “who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.” (FREEMAN)