Bengaluru: The state govt is considering new regulations for homecare and nursing services in a bid to ensure patients get trained caregivers.“Mandatory training and certification will be implemented for all caregivers. Background checks and ID cards for nurses and caregivers will also be required. We’ll also regulate and authorize homecare agencies operating within the state,” UT Khader, health minister, told TOI.“The health minister should consult frontline healthcare workers, not just govt officials, when forming committees and making decisions about training and healthcare policy. Officials may not know much about ground realities,” said Nirmala Srinivasan, founder emeritus of Family Alliance on Mental Illness India.Caregivers point out homecare services in the city face significant challenges and stigma. Agencies often hold prejudiced assumptions about individuals needing care. Srinivasan, 83, who avails home care services for herself and her neurodivergent son, said: “People face stigma and ask intrusive, humiliating questions when seeking care. People running these agencies often assume psychiatric patients are violent and ask awkward questions like whether the person will run away or need to be chased. They ask embarrassing questions about senior citizens as well.” She added the new regulations, hopefully, will address these issues.Senior citizens TOI spoke with were unhappy with homecare agencies. “Nurses are demanding and sometimes, they refuse tasks like physical care and bathing. Many senior citizens in the city live alone and it’s not feasible for them to get multiple nurses for each task,” said SJ Patil, 81, from Whitefield.Caregiver training for inpatientsHealthcare activists advocate for training modules covering medical and social aspects for nurses and attendants. Srinivasan has requested Nimhans to initiate a caregiver training programme.“The caregivers being trained by govt should be monitored, and also paid well. It should not become another low paying women’s job like the ASHA workers,” said Sylvia Karpagam, public health doctor and researcher.“There are concerns about vulnerable groups, especially senior citizens, psychiatric patients, bedridden or chronically ill patients, who face higher risk of crime or abuse. The govt should ensure these individuals, their attendants or caregivers are formally registered with relevant govt bodies. Periodic checks by authorities can help improve safety,” added Srinivasan.
