Wednesday 15 January 2020

Ship them to Thailand

"The total cost of care for people with dementia in the UK is currently at around £35 billion. This is divided between the NHS, the Government Social Care budget, and unpaid care (provided by families). But with the younger generation having to fork out £8.3 billion of their own money a year, it has led to some outside-the-box thinking when it comes to caring for loved ones."

"The government and private investors are very active in cultivating this as part of their economic development. With the number of people with dementia set to increase, and the cost of looking after them also getting higher..."

"One option is to care for family members at home, but British society hasn’t warmed to the idea of living with grandparents like in other countries. Another potential option is sending them abroad for better and cheaper care. It might seem cruel sending a dementia patient almost 15,000 kilometers away… until you dig a little deeper."

"Dr. Caleb Johnston, senior lecturer in human geography at Newcastle University, told the Guardian that Thailand already has a long history of medical tourism, and it’s now setting itself up as an international hub for dementia care." 

"`The government and private investors are very active in cultivating this as part of their economic development. With the number of people with dementia set to increase, and the cost of looking after them also getting higher, it is likely to be an option that more and more people consider,` he said."

"Eight such care homes are located in the northern part of Thailand in Chiang Mai. Managed by a mixture of Swiss, British, and Thai experts and staff, all have the backing and support of the Thai government. For 25 percent cheaper than private care in the UK, these centers boast one-to-one 24-hour care and are all set in magnificent grounds resembling 4- or 5-star hotels."

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/478238-dementia-uk-care-thailand/

Maybe human relations are not broken as easily as the government and investors would like to think:

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