Starter Kit. Idea 443 of 500. Cluster 23
Elder-care visits for families in Sri Lanka, as often as the parent needs, daily, twice a week or weekly: a trained carer to help with bathing, meals and medicines, and to sit and talk, at a price a local salary can pay
The mechanism, from the book
The single largest unused asset in the country is sitting at home. Much of what keeps it there (childcare, safe transport, working hours) can be sold as a service, and the industries that would employ it can be built.
The first step
List the families in one town caring for an elderly parent at home, through a doctor's surgery, a temple or a pharmacy. Find two carers with first-aid training and good references, and agree visit times and a fee per visit that a local salary can pay. Start with five families on a weekly visit. The proof is every family booking a second month.
- Who pays first
- A family in the same town caring for a parent at home, who wants a trained person to help on fixed days.
- What leaves today
- Families care for their parents alone and untrained; a paid visiting service turns that care into skilled local jobs and safer homes.
Ask first
- the area Medical Officer of Health. Ask what training and checks a home-care service should have before visiting elderly people.
- Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission. Ask which carer courses are recognised, so every carer holds a certificate.
Check before you spend
Confirm each carer's training and references, written consent from the family, a clear list of what carers may and may not do, and insurance.
Find out these three numbers
- What will a family in the town pay for one visit?
- How long does a visit for bathing, meals and medicines take?
- How many visits a day can one carer make?
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
From the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? by Dr Maheshika Halbeisen. The idea and the mechanism are the book's; this kit was written for the site.