PETALING JAYA: As Malaysia prepares for an ageing population, the most impacted are those who spend their lives taking care of the elderly.
Among the challenges faced by young carers on outings with the elderly are dilapidated facilities and lifts, as well as a lack of properly-installed ramps that would allow senior citizens in wheelchairs to enjoy the simplest pleasures, like going to the park.
Manoeuvring a wheelchair- bound elderly person is a critical challenge for Siti Shahrosamirah Shaharman, 38, who is caring for her parents.
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The former writer from Rembau, Negri Sembilan, gave up her job in 2021 to focus on her parents full-time.
She said although accessibility has improved for people in wheelchairs, some gaps must be addressed to ease movement for such people.
“You need a bit of skill when you are pushing someone in a wheelchair, especially for women, who are not as strong as men.
“It makes a great difference when there are ramps.
“If there are ramps or special lanes built to allow accessibility, it makes a difference for those of us taking a wheelchair-bound person to parks, because not everyone enjoys going to the mall.
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“Some just want to enjoy the fresh air and greenery.
“It would be nice if they built parks with physiotherapy equipment for the elderly too, with mini bikes, handrails and walkways with ramps,” she said.
Another challenge that persists for Siti Shahrosamirah is taking her parents to the toilet in public spaces such as petrol stations or rest areas.
She said the disabled toilet design needs to consider how a person enters and exits the toilet.
Another amenity with space constraints she finds are lifts in old public buildings, saying those must be upgraded to accommodate the disabled and wheelchair-bound users.
She said that in some of these buildings, the lifts were either too small or broken down, while the buildings did not have any ramps.
“Can you imagine an elderly person having to walk up flights of stairs to get to the service counters of public offices?
“And what about those in a wheelchair?” she asked.
Filial piety: Siti Shahrosamirah (right) clipping the nails of her father, retired civil servant Shaharman Abu Mansor, 76, at their home in Rembau, Negri Sembilan.
Siti Shahrosamirah also noted that some people abuse the parking facility for the disabled, stressing that people need to be more civic-conscious.
Another carer, Najwa Yusof, 30, said the rising cost of healthcare was a concern. She has a 70-year-old mother who is a lupus patient.
“My mother gets her medicine at the local health clinic, but for her regular check-ups, I take her to a private hospital because she needs to see her regular doctor to monitor her progress,” she said.
While there have been improvements in public healthcare facilities recently, Chan Lin Lee is hoping that the government will provide a centralised database for patients seeking treatment at government hospitals.
Chan, 32, said her 73-year-old father with heart issues needed to see specialists at Hospital Serdang at least twice a year.
His treatment requires him to go for a blood test first, and he will only be assessed by a specialist doctor two weeks later.
The process sees the father-and-daughter duo from Melaka making two trips to the hospital in Selangor in the span of 14 days.
“It would be easier if my father took the blood test in Melaka rather than for him to have to travel to Serdang.
“A shared centralised database accessible to both Hospital Melaka and Hospital Serdang would be convenient, and he could be spared the long journey,” she told The Star.
Meanwhile, 73-year-old Ahmad Khalid called for shorter waiting times at health clinics when picking up his monthly supply of medicine.
Ahmad acknowledged that the government offers free healthcare to senior citizens at health clinics but claimed that he had to wait in line for his medication every month for between 15 and 30 minutes, and occasionally even an hour.
“It would be easier if the system could inform us of the best time to turn up for our appointment. The parking is another problem since there is a lack of space at the clinics. In desperation, some of us would double park and have to walk in and out of the clinic to check on our cars,” he said.
Ahmad suggested that the health clinics provide delivery service to those who need regular medication.
“The clinics should consider a delivery system for regular patients who are senior citizens,” he said.
