Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic on the pension industry in ...

Impact of COVID-19 pneumonia on the pension
industry and related suggestions

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 pneumonia
swept the country, which has greatly affected all walks of life, and the impact
on the pension industry is unique. Pension is a typical labor-intensive
industry, and many links in this industry are rigid demand throughout the year.
Old people and so on. Due to the special reasons of the new crown pneumonia
epidemic, the vast majority of the elderly were isolated in nursing homes.
Therefore, in this ultra-Changchun holiday, when many industries are anxious
due to shutdowns, the pension industry has experienced another kind of
suffering.

First, the biggest difficulty is the
extreme shortage of elderly care workers. Most of the nursing staff in the city
came from rural areas or other places. Since the public did not pay much
attention to the new crown virus pneumonia epidemic until January 23 (the lunar
month 29th), most of the nursing staff have returned home. New year. Due to the
evolution of the epidemic, the planned seven-day holiday was not only extended,
but also quarantined for a period of time after return. For example, if
Shanghai extends the Spring Festival holiday to February 9, and it is required that
people from or passing through Hubei and other key areas to Shanghai and
Shanghai come to Shanghai for strict isolation or centralized isolation and
observation for 14 days, there is no abnormal situation Only after the expiry
can work normally. Many other cities have basically similar regulations. This
means that caregivers can leave their jobs for more than a month. According to
this research team's online survey of senior care institutions such as Shanghai
Red Sun, Qinheyuan, and Vanke Suiyuan in Hangzhou, since most of the front-line
caregivers and middle managers are blocked in the field, the core management of
these senior care institutions all enter the entire holiday. The front-line
processing of various affairs, usually only three to four hours of rest a day,
is in a high-load work state, currently still struggling to support.

其次，疫情期间家人无法探视，老人心理比较脆弱，增加了照护难度。适逢

春节，以往许多住在养老机构的老人会被接回家过年，起码有家人来探视。而今年封院后，老人见不到家人，闹情绪或心理不适者大大增加。由于老人看不到外面疫情的严峻形势，信息相对又不太灵敏，护理人员需要极大的耐心，花费大量的精力向他们解释并安抚他们。有些家属对封院措施也不太配合，所有这些都大大增加了工作强度。

Second, family members cannot visit during
the epidemic, and the elderly are more fragile, making it difficult to care for
them. Coinciding with the Spring Festival, many old people living in old-age
care institutions were taken home for Chinese New Year, at least with family
members to visit. After the hospital was closed this year, the elderly could
not see their families, and the number of people with emotional or
psychological discomfort increased greatly. Because the elderly can't see the
severe situation of the epidemic outside, and the information is relatively
insensitive, the nursing staff need great patience and spend a lot of energy to
explain and comfort them. Some family members did not cooperate well with the
closure measures, all of which greatly increased the intensity of work.

第三，老人属易感人群，抵抗能力差，疫情期间需要更加严格的防控措施，

增加了运营成本。本次疫情发生后，各养老机构高度重视，高价采购口罩、消毒剂、手套等，并加大公共卫生清洁的力度，这些都大大增加了运营成本。部分机

构反映，其日常医用消耗品的支出是以往的接近十倍，日常餐饮成本也增加较多。即便如此，由于非常时期防疫用品紧缺，到处求购亦难解决，相关人员身心俱疲。

Third, the elderly are susceptible and have
poor resistance. More stringent control measures are needed during the
epidemic, which increases operating costs. After the outbreak, all elderly care
institutions attach great importance to purchasing masks, disinfectants,
gloves, etc. at high prices, and increasing public health cleaning, which have
greatly increased operating costs. Some institutions report that their daily
medical consumables are nearly ten times more expensive than in the past, and
daily catering costs have increased significantly. Even so, due to the scarcity
of epidemic prevention supplies during the extraordinary period, it is
difficult to solve the problem of buying everywhere, and the relevant personnel
are physically and mentally exhausted.

第四，养老行业属于微利行业，上述几点共同加剧了疫情期间全行业的运营

成本。因此，与大多数行业疫情期间停业困境不同，该行业在艰难的运营中也将受到财务收支状况恶化的严峻考验。

不过，这次疫情也显示出机构养老的优势，并凸显养老行业发展的巨大空间。由于传染病对老年人有更大的伤害，一旦遇到疫情，就会对居家养老产生强烈冲击。相比之下，疫情期间大部分养老机构采取了全封闭管理，不与外界接触，有

专业的医护人员，日常消杀和风险防控都比较充分，相比居家养老的老人能得到更好的保护。     Fourth, the pension
industry is a low-profit industry, and the above points have intensified the
entire industry's operating costs during the epidemic. As a result, unlike most
industry shutdowns during the epidemic, the industry will also be severely
tested by the deteriorating financial revenues and expenditures in difficult
operations.

However, this outbreak also shows the
advantages of institutional pensions and highlights the huge space for the
development of the pension industry. Because infectious diseases are more
harmful to the elderly, once they encounter an epidemic, they will have a
strong impact on home care. In contrast, during the epidemic period, most
old-age care institutions adopted closed management without contact with the
outside world.

Professional medical and nursing personnel
have adequate daily killing and risk prevention and control, and can be better
protected than elderly people living at home.

基于以上情况，我们有如下建议：    

第一，努力保证养老机构对医疗资源的需求。养老机构对于医疗资源的需求位列医院之后第二位，这一点往往被很多人忽视。疫情期间，民政部门可根据日常入住老人数量的分析充分掌握各机构物资需求，同时要求每家养老机构统计物资情况，根据实际情况组织资源调配予以支持，而不是让各个机构到市场上去抢购。

Based on the above, we have the following
suggestions:

First, strive to ensure the demand for
medical resources in the elderly institutions. The demand for medical resources
of the elderly care institutions ranks second after the hospital, which is
often overlooked by many people. During the epidemic, the civil affairs
department can fully grasp the material needs of each institution based on the
analysis of the number of elderly people living daily. At the same time, each elderly
care institution is required to count the material situation and organize the
allocation of resources to support it, rather than letting each institution go
to the market to buy.

第二，针对养老行业受疫情冲击的特殊情况，制定专门扶持措施。除了国家和各地近期出台的税收减免、租金减免等措施外，对养老机构要额外增加非常时期的财政补贴，确保养老机构不因疫情冲击而倒闭，避免这个特殊行业留下后遗症。因为这个后遗症一旦形成会进一步影响全社会——养老机构倒闭后老人的安置将非常困难，对涉及到的家庭都将产生较大影响。具体可对日常医疗易耗品的高价部分提供补贴，其标准可根据入住老人的数量、工作人员的数量测算，亦可养老机构的对水电气费用适当补贴。

Second, in response to the special
situation of the pension industry affected by the epidemic situation, develop
special support measures. In addition to the tax and rent reductions recently
introduced by the state and other regions, extra-period financial subsidies
should be added to pension institutions to ensure that pension institutions do
not fail due to the impact of the epidemic and to avoid the aftermath of this
particular industry. Because once this sequelae is formed, it will further
affect the whole society-the resettlement of the elderly after the retirement
of the elderly institution will be very difficult, and it will have a greater
impact on the families involved. Specifically, it can provide subsidies for the
high-priced parts of daily medical consumables. The standard can be calculated
according to the number of elderly people living and the number of staff, and
it can also provide appropriate subsidies for water and electricity expenses in
the elderly.

第三，对疫情期间坚持长期工作的养老行业员工进行心理干预。疫情期间超负荷工作多日的养老服务人员基本上处于应激状态，疫情期间及过后，心理问题可能随时爆发，不仅对个人和家庭，也会对整个养老行业带来难以预期的后果。建议医疗卫生部门、志愿者及时介入养老机构的心理干预。目前部分心理干预已经介入疫期的医疗卫生人员，但尚未见到对养老机构的介入，需要引起重视。

Third, psychological intervention should be
provided to employees in the pension industry who insist on long-term work
during the epidemic. During the epidemic, elderly service workers who have been
overloaded for many days are basically in a state of stress. During and after
the epidemic, psychological problems may erupt at any time, which will bring
unpredictable consequences not only to individuals and families, but also to
the entire pension industry. It is recommended that medical and health
departments and volunteers intervene in the psychological intervention of the
nursing home in a timely manner. At present, some psychological interventions
have already involved medical staff in the epidemic period, but they have not
seen any intervention in the elderly care institutions, which needs attention.

第四，从长期看，养老行业需要一个极端时期的预案。从国家到地方，现有

的大量预案都是按灾害事故的领域制定的，而养老行业极其特殊，需要专门的预案。国家和各级地方政府应针对养老机构制定重大公共卫生事件（如传染病）的专门预案，在测、报、防、抗、救、援六个环节有系统的应对方案。而每一家养老机构都应当建立或完善应急小组制度，设立相应的负责人分别负责员工安置与防疫、紧急上报、物资分配、资金调度，同时建立第二梯队负责人制度等。另外，
还要不定期组织养老机构针对应急预案的演习、培训，加强风险防控意识，且高效传导到企业末端的每一名员工。

 Fourth,
in the long run, the pension industry needs a plan for an extreme period. From
state to local, a large number of existing plans are formulated according to
the field of disaster accidents, and the pension industry is extremely special
and requires special plans. The state and local governments at all levels
should formulate special plans for major public health events (such as
infectious diseases) for the elderly institutions, and have a systematic
response plan in the six links of measurement, reporting, prevention,
resistance, rescue and assistance. And each old-age care institution should
establish or improve the emergency team system, set up the corresponding person
in charge of staff resettlement and epidemic prevention, emergency reporting,
material allocation, fund dispatch, and establish a second echelon person
system. In addition, it is necessary to organize drills and trainings for the
emergency plan for the emergency plan from time to time, strengthen the
awareness of risk prevention and control, and conduct them efficiently to every
employee at the end of the enterprise.