NATHEALTH establishes new vertical to focus on India’s ageing population

New Delhi: As the need for robust elder care facilities in India continues to develop, NATHEALTH, a collaborative and inclusive healthcare industry consortium has taken an initiative to institutionalize, standardize, and galvanize elder care in India.

NATHEALTH will receive leadership support from Genesis Rehabilitation Services India (GRSI), a leading operator of Senior Care and Rehabilitation Services in India and Max Antara Senior Living. It will work with these industry experts to establish a dedicated Senior Living Vertical, which will create comprehensive support systems for eldercare.

An increasing incidence of chronic ailments, low insurance penetration, lack of universal standards of geriatric healthcare services, government attention and a growing elderly population have called for urgent attention to transform the way India provides care to elderly. With the establishment of a Senior Living Vertical under its platform, NATHEALTH brings in much-needed synergies to the new segment. The initiative aims to set a charter for creating quality services in India for elder care and long term assisted living care as per global standards. This vertical is well aligned with NATHEALTH strategic initiatives to create quality universal healthcare in India by bringing together financing, robust delivery models, digital health, skilling programs and innovation.

“The main drivers for elder care are changing demographics, increasing disposable incomes and quest for quality care. A large proportion of problems in the elderly occur due to chronic diseases. Eldercare space would prove very effective. However, India needs to have an adequate health infrastructure, partnership and policy framework to push this segment. NATHEALTH’s initiative aims to build comprehensive support systems,” said Dr Sudarshan Ballal, President, NATHEALTH, after the signing of a Memorandum of Association with GRSI today.

According to NATHEALTH – Aarogya Bharat Report, the changing demographics that yield a higher proportion of geriatric individuals in the overall population (11% in 2025) will increase the burden on supply-side infrastructure. With global population trends on elderly citizens projected at 2 billion people by the year 2050 and 300 million (25% of the total population) particularly in India, elder care is set to witness growth in terms of both providers as well as end-users.

“With improvements in healthcare and support facilities, life expectancy is enhanced with more elderly requiring social, psychological, financial and medical support. In such a scenario, elder care is an essential component of people-centered care and the delivery system for healthcare has to evolve to cater to preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative spectrums,” said Mr. Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Secretary General, NATHEALTH.  

“India is at an inflection point with the joint family system evolving and baby boomers becoming senior citizens,” said Nanki L. Singh, Chief Executive Officer of GRSI. “GRSI, with our partner Genesis Rehabilitation Services from the United States, is very excited to be in a position to provide world class care to our Seniors and enable them to live life to their fullest capabilities. We envision providing senior care verticals with specialized services, including Memory Care and Long Term Care across India. We are thrilled to partner with NATHEALTH to further our goal of delivering exceptional elder care services to all of India.”

Mr Rajit Mehta, CEO & MD of Max Antara Senior Living said, “India’s demographics are undergoing a fundamental shift. The ageing population has grown from 7.5% in 2001 to 8.6% in 2011 and may reach ~20% by 2050. This has implications on: how families provide for financial and psychological resources; how governments respond by creating a favorable eco-system to cater to geriatric services; and how corporations approach products and services that cater to this segment.”

“It’s very heartening to see NATHEALTH embrace this shift proactively by creating a Senior Living vertical,” continued Mehta. “With healthcare providers, diagnostic companies and medical device organizations already an integral part of NATHEALTH, this integration with Senior Living is both timely and much required.”