specific needs of children and elderly left behind as a ... - IOM Moldova

CHAPTER I
lady from the shelter says: “The doctor sees us every Tuesday – she already
knows all our diseases and gives us prescriptions. There is a drugstore in
here and the doctor orders all medicines that we need and the nurses give
them to us on Thursday. Every person knows his medicine...” (FG_E_3_urban_asylum).
It is indisputable that, under constant monitoring from the medical personnel,
the elderly receive the regular treatment they need, they live in
adequate conditions and are safe especially when their health condition
can worsen or various medical emergencies may arise. This significantly
improves their quality of life, extending it.
Regarding the access to medical services for the elderly left behind as a
consequence of their children’s migration it should be concluded:
• Medical insurance: the services of family doctors and the Emergency
Service are provided free of charge for the elderly from the state medical
insurance fund. Whenever needed, the elderly receive medicine and
residential services. If the access to high quality services is restricted, one
has to go to regional centres or cities for that. For some elderly people the
distance, trip costs and lack of someone who could accompany them to
the town, restrain them from consulting medical specialists. This reduces
the possibility of an early diagnosis of diseases, which would decrease
the cost of treatment and prevent development of serious, irreversible
diseases.
• The elderly with reduced mobility would prefer more frequent home care
services. However, under the current list of health services covered by
the medical insurance, the family doctor is not motivated enough to assist
these patients on a daily basis. In many rural areas there is a severe
shortage of health professionals, sometimes a single doctor works on two
sectors or a few villages, which significantly reduces the time available to
provide home care services for the elderly.
• A major risk for the life of the lonely elderly represents the high probability
of developing states of medical emergencies with no opportunity
to call for help. This risk increases with age and requires the need of continuous
monitoring of the elderly who were left alone.
• The loss of the ability to judge correctly, linked to mental and neurological
changes, makes the elderly, especially those who live alone
and cannot seek advice from a close person, more vulnerable to criminals.
Thus, the risk that some people may take advantage of these old
people increases, leaving them homeless or with no living sources. In
this context it is important that the practitioner would timely assess
the elder’s ability to take care of him/herself and to make rational
decisions.
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