Worry about the quality of nursing homes in China after the living person was almost moved to the morgue

Chinese public opinion has expressed concern about the quality of nursing homes in the country, after an elderly man in Shanghai was still alive but was almost moved to the morgue.

The incident comes at a time when China is facing a rapidly aging population, and more and more families are choosing to send their elderly relatives to care centers.

Earlier, a video circulating on Chinese social media showed morgue workers in Shanghai showing up at a nursing home on May 1 to take the body of an elderly man who had passed away. However, while moving the body bag into the car, they discovered something unusual that the body was still moving.

The morgue staff immediately opened the body bag and reported the incident to nursing home staff.

The old man was then transferred back to the care center for examination. The results showed that the old man’s health condition was completely stable. The center had to apologize for the mistake.

The local government has also confirmed the information about the incident, and announced that six individuals have been fired or disciplined because the incident caused confusion to the public. Many people have voiced their request to the authorities to come up with stronger punishments for individuals involved in nearly sending the living person to the morgue.

The unwarranted incident in Shanghai, China’s No. 1 city, has prompted many to express concerns about the quality of aged care facilities across the country.

Some netizens emphasized that they need to rethink their intention to send their loved ones to nursing homes. Others believe that relatives need to visit these centers more often to check on how their loved ones are being cared for.

According to Chinese tradition, the elderly are cared for by family members. Over the past 10 years, China has followed the “9073” guideline, meaning that 90% of the elderly stay at home, 7% receive help from the community, and only 3% receive care in nursing homes.

But with the rapid economic growth and changing population patterns, a series of elderly care centers have been built in China in recent years.

Experts say that in addition to changing living cultures, the continuous decline in the birth rate will lead to a shortage of young people to care for the elderly in the future.

According to Chinese government data, in 2020, more than 38,000 centers for the elderly have been put into operation. The total number of elderly people in this country is 264 million.

But in fact, many centers have been criticized for their unprofessional operation, inappropriate behavior and even ill-treatment and abuse of the elderly.

The incident in Shanghai has once again sparked a wave of fear in the minds of many Chinese people, as well as forced public opinion to openly discuss ways to improve the quality of care for the number of people. The elderly are increasing rapidly in the country of billions of people.