Japan Press Weekly

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2011 June 15 - 21 [WELFARE]

Bill to cut nursing care services enacted

The House of Councilors on June 15 enacted a bill to revise the nursing care insurance law that will open the way to further cuts in nursing care services.

While the Japanese Communist and Social Democratic parties opposed the bill, the ruling Democratic as well as the Liberal Democratic, Komei, and Your parties bulldozed the bill through after limited Diet deliberations: 10 hours in the House of Representatives and 8 hours in the House of Councilors.

Organizations related to medical and nursing care services and JCP Dietmembers pointed out that the bill has many problems.

One problem is the possibility that local governments will lower the quality in the services to the elderly who have certification of the need to obtain support.

The revised law will enable municipalities using their own judgment to establish their own comprehensive nursing care programs and send home-care workers to provide daily life assistance to elderly people who are in need of extra support.

However, municipalities will not be required to maintain a minimum quality in services. Therefore, as means to cost saving, they could use volunteers instead of authorized home-care workers, leading to a deterioration of services.

Furthermore, elderly persons will have to accept the choice made by their municipalities between the new services and the conventional insurance-covered services.

The other is that medical treatment, originally conducted by medical workers, will be carried out by nursing care workers.

Many people in the nursing care field are expressing their concerns about the safety and the legal responsibility for possible accidents.

Following criticisms from those people and the JCP, the Diet attached a rider to the bill. It states that when local governments implement their own program, they should carefully consider elderly people’s demands and that in preparation for carrying out medical treatment, nursing care service providers should train their workers to achieve enough knowledge and skills, take appropriate safety measures, and make regular assessments.