從立法與管理看臺灣長期照護之現況

Legislative Policy and Management in Relation to Long Term Care in Taiwan

由於台灣地區高齡化社會使長期照護需求日增，但目前尚未建立長期照護專責體制，致使資源配置不當，導致長期照護佔用急性隨醫療資源，亦造成需求者個人及家庭沉重的負擔，加上目前體系發展分歧，管理法源各異，因此本文從立法與管理層面，闡述台灣地區長期照護面臨之困境與建議。在高齡化社會裡，如何使政策、立法、服務合一，落實老人福祉，是整個社會包括老人本身、家庭、民間社團及政府的責任，深切期望儘快完成長期照護法之立法，以真正落實長期照護體制完善的管理與發展。

Because of the ageing of Taiwan society, long-term care needs increase on a daily basis. But no shift system has been introduced for long-term care, with the result that when there is an inappropriate balance of deployment of resources, acute hospital resources are being given over to long-term care patients, and a heavy burden is being placed upon long-term care patients and their families. In addition, there are developmental differences within the current system, in which many different management methods are adopted. For this reason, this article describes the difficulties that long- term care faces in Taiwan, and makes suggestions in that regard. In an ageing society, integration of policy, legislation and services, the provision of welfare to the elderly, are responsibilities of the whole of society-the elderly themselves, their families, civil society, and government. We sincerely hope that legislation on long-term care can now be passed quickly, so that a truly flawless long-term care system can be introduced.