A few years ago, I was told by a real estate developer who was into senior living that he is the saviour of older people, so don't teach him about standards or guidelines.
The project had one small dining room, a cupboard as a so called library placed on the terrace and carroms as the social and recreational well-being, and they thought it's the best Retirement Community in India.
If this was the mindset and is somewhat the mindset about senior care, then I don't think we really require separate senior living projects, these same facilities are mostly available in condominiums and in most neighbourhoods.
Off late there seems to be a rush by small and large entities who are entering the Aged Care arena. Many new entrants getting associated with Old Age Care behave as if they are the gladiators in a Colosseum and Senior Citizens are the opponents whom they have to defeat.
While on one hand sustainability and return on investment is extremely critical, but then the feeling of being bigger than the system or the industry just because the demand is growing, can have different implications.
The thinking that service providers can charge any amount of money and not really be bothered about the most important elements of this business i.e. Humility, Humbleness, Empathy and Professionalism is probably going to be the fallout for the sector even before it learns to walk.
But then, typically in India, once a shop starts doing well, then customers just become a number and quality takes a back seat.
The larger point is not about people riding the white horse, it's about registration and monitoring by the concerned departments and authorities.
Many states now have schemes and policies to support development of Senior Care space, but then unfortunately there is complete lack of transparency and/or no data on how many care homes, assisted living facilities, rehabilitation centres have been inspected by the social welfare department?
A fancy looking brochure or website which shows grab bars, antiskid tiles, nurse on site is not the level of national standards which will take this sector far, we need to ensure that the staff are certified in proper subjects and there is a quality control mechanism both for the state sponsored institutional level and for the private sector.
Pankaj Mehrotra
