Thailand is in the process of transitioning into an aging society. It is expected that by 2021, Thai society will enter the Aged Society and will enter the Super Aged Society in 2031. This situation is a result of Thai people tend to live longer. Have both fewer and slower children causing the number and proportion of the Thai elderly population to increase rapidly.

By entering the aging society, there must be a population of 20 elderly people per 100 people, and if there are elderly people up to 28 percent of the total population Will result in that country Entering the next highest level of an aging society. Nevertheless, the predictions can vary with the birth rate of the new population and the mortality rate of the general population.

From the said situation the elderly care business is, therefore, a business that will respond to the growing needs of the elderly in Thailand.

Elderly care business means non-hospital services with service to reside Drug services for the elderly that do not need to be under the supervision of a doctor regularly. Generally, covers overnight accommodation, food, housekeeping, and accommodation. As well as cleanliness of the body Along with closely following basic health care but didn't provide medical treatment. If there is an illness, the referral will be delivered to the patient department of a nearby hospital for further treatment.

Department of Business Development Categorized the elderly care business by private services according to the service into 2 large dimensions as follows

Dimension 1: Divided according to the length of time that the elderly is admitted that have 2 types which are

• Daycare services for self-help seniors and have a relative to pick up
• Long stay care services where the elderly live in that place or live for a certain period. In which relatives who do not have time to take care will bring the elderly to take care and come to visit from time to time.

Dimension 2: Divided according to the care needs of the elderly who receive the service, divided into 2 types which are

• Elderly who can help themselves
• Elderly people with disability dependence cannot help themselves. Have chronic disease or need close nurses and medical care

At present, the elderly care business has a combination of care and services in both groups.

According to a survey conducted by the Siam Commercial Bank for Economic and Business Research (SCB EIC), more than 90% of seniors want to live in their home after retirement. But with the size of a smaller family of only 3 people, when the children must go to work, so do not have time to look after the elderly at home alone. Especially the elderly at home and bed, which is the group that needs the most care. However, home care is 3 times lower than the average hospital stay, making Home Care or home care services a good choice for most elderly people.

Home Care business is available to meet the needs of the elderly in Thai society that prefer to stay at home. With the tendency to develop more comprehensive service models. Not just providing health care for the elderly, but the home care business is also a full-service business in terms of homemaking. Such as cleaning, do housework, food preparation for the elderly Including taking care of the minds of the elderly as well. The home care business in Thailand is, therefore, one of the businesses that have more opportunities to grow in the future. It is also a business that does not require high investment, easy to manage which the important thing that these business needs are quality caregivers and nurses with skills

Data from the Department of Business Development (Nov 17) shows that there are around 800 elderly care business operators, divided into 200 legal entities, with a total registered capital of 2,282.97 million baht. And are around 600 individuals. There are 75 businesses that have passed the quality management criteria (35 legal entities and 40 individuals). But if comparing the number of businesses with the proportion of the elderly population increasing every year will see that there are still gaps in the market demand and there are many opportunities for those interested in entering this business

However, the main problem of the elderly care business in Thailand is

• Caring for the elderly is a service that requires patience, understanding, and knowledge of nursing. Or nursing assistant Who have passed the course on elderly care Both short courses (70 hours)
• Long term (420 hours) organized by the Department of Health. Ministry of Public Health Or related departments
• ·Elderly care work has the same characteristics that are repeated. Therefore, when working for a while, then want to change jobs Causing the elderly care personnel to continuously lack Unable to meet the market demand That the number of elderly people has increased
• Some elderly care facilities are not up to standard. The operation still encountered problems and various complaints

To summarize, businesses that are related to the elderly are interesting and have a lot of opportunities to grow in the long run. Those interested in starting to invest in business should study the standards of the business to take good care of the elderly. In order to decide to do a business that is of interest to you and able to achieve sustainable success

Article by: Nipapan Poonsatiansup,

CFP^® Dependent Financial Planner