Chương II Luật người cao tuổi năm 2009: Phụng dưỡng, chăm sóc người cao tuổi

Chapter II

TAKING CARE OF AND LOOKING AFTER THE ELDERLY

SECTION I. TAKING CARE OF THE ELDERLY

Article 10. Obligations and rights to take care of the elderly

1. Taking care of the elderly means caring for their spiritual and material lives, aiming to satisfy their basic food, clothing, lodging, travel and healthcare needs as well as entertainment, recreation, information, communication and learning needs.

2. Persons having the obligations and rights to take care of the elderly are their children and grandchildren and other persons obliged to take care of or provide financial supports under the law on marriage and family.

3. Persons having the obligations and rights to take care of the elderly shall, depending on their specific circumstances, arrange the elderly's lodgings suitable to their health and psychological conditions; provide financial assistance; pay hospitalization and healthcare costs and encourage the elderly when they fall sick: organize funerals when they die.

4. Persons having the obligations and rights to take care of the elderly shall cooperate with one another in looking after them.

5. Organizations and individuals other than those defined in Clause 2 of this Article arc encouraged to participate in take caring of the elderly.

Article 11. Entrusted care for the elderly

1. Persons having the obligations and rights to take care of the elderly but having no conditions to directly look after the elderly may entrust individuals or organizations providing services of taking care of the elderly to look after the elderly, but with the elderly's consent.

Entrustment to look after the elderly shall be effected under service contracts between persons having the obligations and rights to take care of the elderly and service providers.

2. Service providers entrusted to look after the elderly shall fulfill their commitments under service contracts signed with entrusters.

3. The elderly may request persons with care-taking obligations and rights to replace service providers entrusted to take care of them.

4. The Government shall detail this Article.

SECTION 2. CARING FOR THE ELDERLY'S HEALTH

Article 12. Medical examination and treatment

1. Prioritized medical examination and treatment for the elderly shall be carried out as follows:

a/ Persons aged full 80 or older shall be given priority for medical examination before other persons, except emergency patients, under-6 children and heavily disabled people;

b/ Elderly inpatients are arranged proper hospital beds.

2. Hospitals, except pediatrics hospitals, have the following responsibilities:

a/ To organize gerontologic departments or set aside a number of beds for treatment of elderly patients:

b/ To rehabilitate elderly patients' health after pernicious disease treatments at hospital and guide their further treatment and care at home;

c/ To combine traditional medicine with modern medicine in treatment and guide methods of non-medicine treatment at grassroots health establishments for elderly patients:

d/ The Stale encourages organizations and individuals to give free-of- charge medical examination and treatment to the elderly.

Article 13. Primary healthcare at places of residence

1. Commune, ward, township health stations have the following responsibilities:

a/To carry out propaganda and dissemination in different forms of common healthcare knowledge; guide the elderly in skills of disease prevention and treatment and self-healthcare;

b/ To compile files for the elderly's health monitoring and management;

c/ To give medical examination and treatment suitable to their specialization to the elderly;

d/ To coordinate with higher-level medical establishments in organizing periodical health checkups for the elderly.

2. Commune, ward or township health stations shall send health workers to conduct medical examination and treatment at places of residence of lonely and seriously ill elderly persons who cannot go to medical establishments for examination and treatment. Commune, ward or township People's Committees shall support the transport of patients defined in this Clause to medical establishments at the proposal of commune, ward or township health stations.

3. The State encourages organizations and individuals to give medical examination and treatment to the elderly at their places of residence.

4. Funds for the implementation of tasks defined at Points a, b and d. Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article shall be provided by the state budget.

SECTION 3. CARE FOR THE ELDERLY IN CULTURAL, EDUCATIONAL, PHYSICAL TRAINING SPORTS, RECREATION AND TOURIST ACTIVITIES, IN THE USE OF PUBLIC FACILITIES AND PARTICIPATION IN MASS TRANSIT

Article 14. Cultural, educational, physical training, sports, recreation and tourist activities

1. The State invests and encourages organizations and individuals to invest in the construction of cultural, educational, physical training, sports, recreation and tourist establishments to satisfy the elderly's demands for better spiritual fife and physical training.

2. The State and society shall create favorable conditions for the elderly to learn and research and participate in cultural, physical training, sports, recreation and tourist activities through the following measures:

a/ Providing information, documents and guidance for the elderly to participate in learning and research;

b/ Providing support and guidance for the elderly to participate in cultural, recreation, tourist and deep-breathing practices as well as other physical training and sports activities suitable to their health and psychology;

c/ Providing supports in locations, tools, equipment and other material foundations suitable to the elderly's activities:

d/ Encouraging enterprises and individuals to produce and trade in products and commodities suitable to the elderly's needs.

3. The Government shall detail this Article.

Article 15. Public facilities, mass transit

1. The construction or renovation of condomi­niums and public facilities must take into account the elderly's characteristics and use needs.

2. When participating in mass transit, the elderly shall be assisted and arranged convenient seats.

3. The Government shall detail this Article.

Article 16. Discount of fares and service charges

The elderly are entitled to discount of fares and service charges when using a number of services stipulated by the Government.

SECTION 4. SOCIAL PATRONAGE FOR THE ELDERLY

Article 17. Persons entitled to social patronage policies

1. The elderly of poor households without persons having the care-taking obligations and rights or with persons having the care-taking obligations and rights who however, currently enjoy monthly social relief allowances.

2. Persons aged full 80 or over other than those defined in Clause 1 of this Article who have no pensions, monthly social insurance allowances or monthly social relief allowances.

Article 18. Social patronage policies

1. The elderly defined in Article 17 of this Law are entitled to health insurance, monthly social relief allowances and payment of funeral and burial costs upon their death, except cases specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. The elderly of poor families without persons having the care-taking obligations and rights, no conditions to live in the community, have the aspiration and are admitted into social patronage establishments, are entitled to the following benefits:

a/ Annual nurturing allowance;

b/ Supply of personal effects and articles for their daily activities;

c/ Health insurance;

d/ Provision of common medicines;

e/ Provision of tools and equipment for functional rehabilitation;

f/ Funeral and burial upon death.

3. The Government shall detail this Article.

Article 19. Looking after the elderly at community

The elderly defined in Clause 2 of Article 18 with someone undertaking to look after them at community are entitled to a monthly social relief allowance equal to the nurturing cost level at social patronage establishments, health insurance and payment of funeral and burial costs upon their death.

Article 20. Elderly-caretaking establishments

1. Elderly-caretaking establishments are places in which care, nurturing, counseling or other necessary conditions are provided for the elderly.

2. Elderly caring establishments include:

a/ Social patronage establishments;

b/ Elderly care counseling and service-providing establishments;

c/ Other elderly caretaking establishments.

The Government shall specify the establishment and operation of elderly caretaking establishments defined in this Clause.

3. The State encourages organizations and individuals to invest in the construction of elderly caretaking establishments; invests in material foundations and provides financial supports for the operation of public elderly caretaking establishments and provides financial supports for non-public elderly caretaking establishments to nurture the elderly defined in Clause 2, Article 18 of this Law.

4. Organizations and individuals contributing or investing their own funds in the construction of elderly caretaking establishments are entitled to preferential policies under the law on policies to encourage socialization of activities in the fields of education, vocational training, healthcare, culture, sports and environment.

SECTION 5. LONGEVITY CONGRA TUL\ TION AND CELEBRATION, FUNERAL ORGANIZATION

Article 21. The elderly's longevity congratulations and celebrations

1. Persons aged 100 will be congratulated and given presents by the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

2. Persons aged 90 will be congratulated and given presents by chairpersons of provincial-level People's Committees.

3. Commune, ward or township People's Committees shall coordinate with locjd Elderly Associations and the elderly's families in organizing longevity celebrations lor the elderly when they reach the age of 70. 75. 80. 85. 90. 95. 100 or over on any of the following days:

a/ Vietnam Elderly Day;

b/ The International Elderly Day;

c/ Lunar New Year Festival:

d/ The elderly’s birthdays.

4. Funds for the implementation of tasks defined in this Article shall be provided by the state budget and social contributions.

Article 22. Organization of funerals and burials for deceased elderly

1. When the elderly pass away, persons with care-taking obligations and rights shall assume the main responsibility for organizing their funerals and burials in a solemn and thrifty ceremony, ensuring cultured lifestyle, unless otherwise provided for by law. If the elderly have no persons with care-taking obligations and rights or have such persons who. however, do not have conditions to organize funerals and burials, commune, ward or township People's Committees or social patronage establish-ments where such the elderly live shall assume the prime responsibility for. and coordinate with local Elderly Associations and mass organizations in. organizing their funerals and burials.

2. When an elderly passes away, the agency or organization in which he/she works or last worked, the Elderly Association and the commune, ward or township People's Committee and local mass organizations shall coordinate with his/her family in organizing his/her funeral and burial.