Zhang Qian

    zhqcindy@163.com

    ENHANCING service of all kinds for the aged population is set to be one of the key goals for the city’s civil affairs departments this year, Liao Yuanfei, head of the Shenzhen Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, announced at a year-end conference yesterday.

    Liao said that the city would add more than 1,000 beds in the to-be-built or expanded nursing homes this year to meet the increasing demand for service of the aged population.

    A new municipal nursing home will be opened this year, while the current municipal welfare center will be relocated to a larger space.

    Apart from adding more beds and building more public nursing homes in all administrative areas, Liao said that privately operated nursing homes and businesses would also be encouraged with favorable policies, funds and standards.

    Representing the Futian District Civil Affairs Bureau, Wang Yuehui, head of the district bureau, delivered a report summarizing the bureau’s methods of advancing services for seniors living in the district at yesterday’s conference.

    By the end of 2016, residents aged above 60 years old accounted for 7.85 percent of Futian District residents, and the figure is expected to reach 10.6 percent.

    It is calculated that one-third of all Shenzhen’s aged residents are living in the city center, said Wang. Thus providing service to this group of residents is an urgent necessity for the district.

    Besides tailoring policies and solutions, the district has also enlarged investments into services for the elderly. More than 300 million yuan (US$43.89 million) of the financial fund went to the industry. The district government has provided more than 7,000 square meters of land to build 21 care centers for the elderly.

    All of the centers were operated by social forces such as social organizations, and companies with professional knowledge about senior care. In December 2016, the district’s welfare center signed cooperative deals with Vanke to work on an apartment project especially for the elderly.

    The Yantian District Civil Affairs Bureau also shared its experience in setting up localized standards for the industries that provide services for the aged population at the conference.

    Liao said that working on nursing industries for the city’s senior people will be one of the most important tasks this year for all of the civil affairs departments in response to both the national and provincial requirements.

    The task was also listed as one of the most significant “things-to-achieve” at a conference held by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Jan. 14 and 15.