One's end of days
Re: "Policy for final days", (Editorial, Jun 25).
This editorial's focus on paid leave for employees faced with the need to provide end-of-life care for family members glosses over the myriad regulatory problems this approach invites. The writers acknowledge that "while certain elements of the proposal may remain debatable -- for example, how to ascertain that illnesses are terminal or how to define 'close ties' beyond immediate family for eligibility -- these can be further discussed."
While developed countries with seemingly infinite resources may have the option to provide 60 days paid leave for compassionate care, if one combines this policy with parental leave systems in the socialist EU and OECD nations, couples with large extended families could conceivably never have to go to work while getting paid to care for their family members year-round. Obviously, from a practical viewpoint, the impact upon GDP and employers of similar policies would be catastrophic in Thailand.
The Western medical model of treating debilitating illness with multi-drug administration and expensive hospital visits exacerbates demands upon families for both time and resources.
Simply calling for more money to throw at this failed system does not cut to the root of the problem.
Just as public health care is subsidised in Thailand, end-of-life care needs to be regulated and subsidised at an institutional level. The elder-care industry in Thailand needs help from the government and universities.
This policy will not shift professional workers from making important contributions to society to indeterminate occupations that do just the opposite. End-of-life care is a professional occupation, best served by those who are trained and certified, just as hospital nurses are. The benefits of this approach are self-evident.
