Since there is no literature and/or guidelines available on how to design Senior Citizen Care Homes in India, hence as a concerned citizen I have tried to initiate & facilitate the development of the same.
Normally, we assume that if an elderly person is poor and underprivileged then he or she can be dumped in a shelter home or an old age home. To be honest this was the harsh reality till a few years back, however the mindset is slowly changing now. Though India is still a far cry from international standards w.r.t Aged Care, yet it will be naive to say that things are not progressing at the ground level.
Keeping into consideration that central government has its own limitations when it comes to dictating terms to the state governments, hence it becomes even more critical that central government takes the lead in sharing model design principles and guidelines which can be used by the state governments.
Unfortunately even central government has not developed any design guidelines or room data sheets regarding Senior Citizen Care Homes, hence in my limited capacity I am trying to compile the same.
In the first of the series and as a layman, I have compiled the functional space planning along with 4 to 6 bedded dormitory room designs for the district level senior citizen care homes. Twin bedded and single seater will be suggested after due research along with individual space planning & design guidelines.
These designs are personal recommendations & have no validation from any architect or governing body. Since the drawing have been made in power point and not based on any architectural software, hence the mistakes are apologised.
The larger point of debate is, while most of the country is concerned about Senior Citizen Care and Senior Living at the urban level, who is actually keeping a tab on the real development at the district or rural level?
In today’s day and age, don’t the poor & underprivileged elderly deserve similar care as compared to the higher income group elderly?
One never knows what destiny has in store for us, who knows we may require accommodation in a Senior Citizen Care Home for ourselves.
Pankaj Mehrotra
The document can be downloaded here (Designing of District Level Senior Citizen Care Homes) or can be viewed below