Gyeonggi Province has provided a total of approximately 17,000 services to date through its 'One-Person Household Hospital Safe Companion' program, which assists residents who have difficulty going to the hospital alone with everything from making appointments and payments to returning home.
The One-Person Household Hospital Safe Companion program is a key pledge of the 8th popularly elected administration and is being promoted to guarantee safe access to medical care for single-person households in Gyeonggi Province, in accordance with the 'Basic Ordinance for One-Person Households in Gyeonggi Province.' The program targets single-person households in need of a hospital companion, including de facto single-person households such as single parents, elderly households, and grandparent-grandchild households.
Caregivers, social workers, and nursing assistants provide services such as accompanying patients within the hospital, assisting with payments and registration, and offering companion services during medical consultations upon request. The program is currently being implemented in 11 cities and counties, including Seongnam, Ansan, Gwangmyeong, and Yangpyeong.
Applications can be made by phone or via the Minwon24 website or app through designated agencies in each city or county, such as One-Person Household Support Centers or Family Centers. Transportation costs are borne by the user, and the service fee is set at 5,000 won (for three hours) within the jurisdiction.
Participants of the 'One-Person Household Hospital Safe Companion Officer Training' organized by Gyeonggi Province are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by Gyeonggi Province
In 2023, when the program was first launched, 4,237 services were provided. Last year, 8,497 services were delivered. As of the end of May this year, the program has recorded a total of 4,626 cases, including 2,011 companion support cases, 93 cases linked to similar services, and 2,522 counseling cases.
To improve the quality of the 'One-Person Household Hospital Safe Companion' program, Gyeonggi Province conducted job competency enhancement training for program officials, implementing agency operators, and companions at Gyeonggi Sangsang Campus on June 18 and 27.
Yoon Youngmi, Director of Gender Equality and Family Affairs, stated, "Gyeonggi Province is expanding the Hospital Safe Companion service to improve the quality of life for one-person households who find it difficult to cope alone when they are ill," and added, "We will continue to strengthen support for the increasing number of one-person households in the future."
Meanwhile, a satisfaction survey conducted last year among users showed an average satisfaction score of 4.98 out of 5 in areas such as the service process, companion friendliness, user quality of life, and overall service satisfaction.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
