Complaints about seniors' homes hit record levels

Complaints about senior citizens' homes are soaring nationwide, indicating that sufficient measures to protect residents are not in place.

According to the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, the number of complaints about such facilities in fiscal 2007 stood at 327, the highest since fiscal 1998, when the body began compiling data.

Tallying for fiscal 2008 is under way, with the number expected to reach 400, more than five times fiscal 1998 levels.

About 80 percent of complaints involve the return of down payments paid to senior citizens' homes and difficulties cancelling contracts, according to the center.

There are no figures available for the total amount of money tied to these complaints.

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Consumers' Center, where in fiscal 2007 there were 122 complaints registered, the largest number for all prefectures, people pay on average 10.54 million yen to sign on with a home for the elderly.

Such senior citizens' homes are privately operated facilities where meals and services such as washing of clothes are provided.

These facilities cater to a variety of people ranging from those who are well-off to those who finance their stay using their pensions.

Senior citizens who are healthy enough not to need nursing care can also live there.

There are three types among senior citizens' homes that require a downpayment.

In the first type, residents must move out if their health deteriorates to the point that they become dependent on care.

In the second, nursing care is not provided, but residents can receive care from outside sources.

The third type is where residents can receive care.

In addition, there are facilities classified as "special nursing homes."

People aged 65 or older needing constant care because they are bed-ridden or suffer from senile dementia are eligible to move into these homes. The cost of staying in these homes is relatively cheap and can be covered by the public nursing care insurance program.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the country's special nursing homes accommodate 430,000 residents.

But it is a far cry from what is needed.

About 385,000 people were on the waiting list in fiscal 2006.

As a result, many people have had to move into other types of facilities because they cannot afford to wait.

Statistics by the ministry show the number of registered senior citizens' facilities nationwide stood at 2,846 as of July 2007. A total of 155,000 residents live in these homes.

The figure for registered seniors' homes soared to 4,110 as of March this year, with a total of 202,000 residents, according to the welfare ministry.

Apart from registered homes, there are about 600 unregistered centers, like Tamayura in Shibukawa, Gunma Prefecture, where 10 residents were killed after it caught fire in March.

Some analysts speculate that the number of complaints jumped because pernicious operators have been entering the industry in growing numbers to cash in on business opportunities arising from a rapidly graying society.

To stem potential troubles, the welfare ministry threw a "cooling off" provision into the 2006 revision of the law on the welfare of the aged.

It stipulates that the full amount of money paid by a resident must be returned if he or she cancels the contract within 90 days after signing it.

But some operators are not complying with the cooling off provision.

A man in Tokyo paid 4.8 million yen to enter a home he was referred to by a hospital where he had been treated.

He moved out eight days later, since he felt the quality of service there was poor. But the home refused to return the money, insisting that it "could not repay it after seven days."

A woman in her 70s paid 9 million yen in a one-off payment to enter a seniors' facility in the Tokyo metropolitan area. She was told when she signed her contract that the money would be returned to her if she moved out. Six months later, she left. But the money was not returned despite her repeated requests.

Other operators would not let residents see their contracts or documents explaining important matters, according to the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan.

In some cases, residents felt they had to tolerate rough treatment from staff and poor meals, although the operators promised otherwise.

Many have nowhere to go because they are left with little money after dipping into their savings or selling their own homes to enter those facilities.

Prefectural authorities can issue business improvement orders for malicious cases based on the law on the welfare of the aged.

But they cannot afford to step up their oversight because too many senior citizens' homes have sprung up for them to handle.

Some point out that complaints taken to public offices are only the tip of the iceberg.

"Complaints about homes for the elderly that are effectively people's last abode tend not to surface," said Mieko Tanno, a member of the board of directors with the Japan Association of Consumer Affairs Specialists. "There must be a lot more troubles than we thought."

Sumiko Nakamura, a nursing care consultant, advises that would-be residents should only sign a contract after taking a tour of a facility and stay there on a trial basis if they can.(IHT/Asahi: June 13,2009)