The government will make it easier for those in need to hire foreign caregivers, so that everybody in need, regardless of their age, illness or financial situation, would be taken care of, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said on Thursday.
Chen pledged to create simpler pathways for families seeking to hire a foreign caregiver and has already instructed agencies to review the regulations, Cabinet spokesman Lin Tze-luen (林子倫) told a news conference after the weekly Cabinet meeting.
The government would not only review the functionality assessment, called the Barthel Index, but would also develop more flexible methods to assess the status of those in need, Lin quoted Chen as saying.
Photo: Taipei Times
Currently, elderly and severely ill Taiwanese must be assessed under the Barthel Index to be eligible to hire a foreign caregiver, Lin said.
Approval to employ a foreign caregiver is dependent on the activities of daily living (ADL) score the index shows, he said.
Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) said that the government does not plan to completely abandon the Barthel Index, but to combine it with other indices and ensure adjustments are made when people fail to meet the Barthel threshold.
Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said that the Barthel Index assesses functional independence, but some people who need care do not meet its standards.
Some people with dementia do not pass the evaluation because they are able to follow some instructions, but if they were to go out alone, they could easily get lost, Hsueh said.
In such a case, a diagnosis from a psychiatrist or an assessment using the Clinical Dementia Rating could be used to ascertain whether they are eligible to hire a foreign caregiver, he said.
Department of Long-Term Care head Chu Chien-fang (祝健芳) said that Hsueh and Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) are to meet with advocacy groups and representatives of patients on Sept. 12.
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, on Wednesday pledged that, if he wins next year’s election, he would revoke regulations requiring elderly people seeking to hire a foreign caregiver to be assessed.
Hou said he would remove the requirement for people older than 80, as well as for those aged 70 to 79 who have a severe illnesses, including cancer that has advanced beyond stage 1.
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