Dubai: Keeping a tab on the monthly supply of grocery; getting that electricity bill cleared on time; setting a reminder on the mobile phone to turn the webcam on just in time to catch a glimpse of grandson dear’s birthday party in Michigan; making sure the monthly appointment with the cardiologist is on track; keeping that cereal dispenser in the kitchen well-stocked for next morning … and yes, putting in a word with the authorities about that mercurial new maid who has been playing truant far too often …
A to-do list for a household. Right?
Yes. And no!
Yes, because it is indeed what the woman or the man of the house would usually do to keep the household running like a well-oiled machine. And no, because in the kind of scenario that we are about to discuss, it is not the ageing member of the house, but his or her ‘care manager’ who would actually be ticking those boxes.
Elder care has already made a big imprint on what promises to be a fast-growing market in India, the real value of which probably goes well beyond mere number crunching and acquires a significant sociological traction.
Organisations like Portea, TriBeCa Care, Homital, India Home Health Care and Epoch Eldercare have made quite a bit of difference to the concept of caring for aged parents and family members “back home” as an increasing number of young and middle-aged Indian professionals seek greener pastures abroad to secure their future.
“My mother had a stroke while she was in Dubai on a holiday last January. Later, when we moved her back to Kolkata, she was hospitalised for two-and-a-half months. On being discharged, there was no one to look after her at home. Fortunately, TriBeCa Care came to our rescue,” Samit Bhattacharya, a non-resident Indian and an IT professional working at Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority in Dubai, told Gulf News.
Ticking time bomb
While the glossing over with regard to India’s young workforce is not without its reasons, poor social infrastructure presents a ticking time bomb for the country’s elderly population. According to the Economist, by 2030, the number of those aged 60-plus in India is set to reach a staggering 192 million and with only 15 per cent of the population covered by pension, the picture tends to get increasingly gloomy as those streaks of grey fast outnumber the strands of black in a receding hairline.
Thankfully, elder-care companies now constitute serious business in the world’s second-most populous nation.
From the late 1970s to early 1980s, with rising inflation and an ever-growing lure of consumerism, micromanaging of large families in big cities and semi-urban areas of India started becoming a problem.
Gradually, a decadent joint family structure gave way to nuclear families. And by the early 1990s, as the information technology boom, coupled with a liberalised economy, started sweeping Indian shores, many young professionals sought brighter career prospects in Europe and North America. Soon, hundreds of households in metros such as Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi and Chennai were left with senior citizens who were dependent on domestic helps, neighbours or near relatives to get the logistics of the home-front running. But such help was mostly out of social bonding or a sense of responsibility, love or proximity. It was neither organised nor was it backed up by professionals and trained personnel.
“Imagine a son or a daughter, who is in Los Angeles or Arlington, getting a phone call from Mumbai or Chennai, saying that an elderly parent, who is 75 or 80, has had a fall and fractured his or her hip. Obviously, he or she would like to hop on to the next available flight and be back home. But even that flight is going to take 18 hours. What if things take a turn for the worse in the meanwhile? This is when a care manager fills in the void,” Elina Dasgupta Dutta, founder director and chief strategy officer at Kolkata-based TriBeCa Care, told Gulf News in Dubai recently.
“Today, the home-care market in the top eight metropolitan cities in India accounts for $281 million [Dh1.03 billion],” Kabir Chadha, a former McKinsey analyst and founder of Epoch Eldercare, told CNBC.
With time, the very concept of elder care has changed in India. While initially, the emphasis was primarily on providing care to elderly citizens through old-age homes, the trend now is to provide every possible service — right from Medicare to companionship — at one’s place of residence and through a single-window interface, namely: The care manager.
Unusual requests
“We are required to develop a bonding with our elderly clients and gradually we are accepted as no less than a family member. For someone whose son or daughter may not be near at hand, we are the ones who play that role and that indeed is a very satisfying experience,” Sangeeta Pramanik, care manager with an elder-care company, told Gulf News from Kolkata.
“Clients have become a lot more discerning, when it comes to elder care,” Elina, a former creative director with advertising agencies such as JWT, Lowe Lintas and Ogilvy, said. To keep pace with such market versatility, companies have had to innovate.
“For instance, our care managers are equipped to even cater to unusual requests like say someone seeking to visit a pandal during the autumn Durga Puja celebrations in Kolkata,” Elina added.
There is also a qualitative difference between providing care through old-age homes and delivering elderly care at one’s place of residence. Unlike the West, in India, there is a fair bit of emotional trauma and separation anxiety associated with moving an elderly person form his or her residence to an old-age home. It is construed as a sure sign of someone being considered a burden. At the same time, an elderly person may badly need help at odd hours owing to health-related issues. So, care and assistance need to be provided without risking a snapping of the emotional tug strings. Elder-care companies play a crucial role in maintaining that fine balance between providing logistical support and keeping the emotional quotient undisturbed.
