Unpaid fees, where does the pension go? Caregiving is not volunteer work.

When you shop, you pay money.
That is a matter of course.

It is often said that caregiving is
‘providing a service’.

This ‘service’ means
‘providing goods to a customer’,
and no one ever said it was free.

In the caregiving business, there are families who
occasionally fall behind on their service fees.

If you cannot pay, you cannot use the service.

This time, I am talking about that harsh reality.

The daughter-in-law who leaves as if running away

There was a grandmother who attended a small-scale
day service three times a week.

She had mild dementia and was quite hard of hearing.
If you spoke loudly near her ear, she would generally understand.

When we could have a conversation, she would show a lovely,
smiling face.

She lived with her son's family, but
she was not allowed to bathe at home.

Bathing at the day service was one of her
joys.

Her daughter-in-law provided the transportation.
Every time, the daughter-in-law would not get out of the car,
and only the grandmother would get out.

And the daughter-in-law would leave immediately without even saying ‘please’...
I always felt uneasy about this scene.

Unpaid fees, yet a shrinking pension

One day, the manager said quietly,
‘Ms. XX, the service fees haven't been paid for several months...’

When I asked, I was told that the grandmother's pension was being
spent by the daughter-in-law on things like her children's cram school fees.

Due to her age, the grandmother often complained of
itching all over her body.

The moisturizer at the facility was not enough,
and even though we asked the family to take her to a dermatologist, there was no sign of them doing so.

Even when we asked them to provide over-the-counter anti-itch medicine,
they would not send any.

After consulting with the manager, a staff member took her
to the dermatologist.
The facility covered the cost of the consultation and medicine.

The facility covers the medical costs for those who are behind on their service fees.
In the field of caregiving, there is suchunreasonablenessas this.

I thought, ‘What a cold-hearted family.’
At the same time, I also felt that there might have been things that happened between the family in the past...
I felt that there was a ‘complexity’ there that we did not know about.

Contract terminated, what happens after is unknown

The non-payment continued, and following a case conference,
the contract with that person was terminated.

The skin medicine must be gone by now.
I do not know how she is spending her time after that.
Every time I remember her, my heart feels unsettled.

Caregiving is a profession

The only thing that is certain is that
the caregiving business is not volunteer work.

Bathing, accompanying to the hospital, applying medicine, assisting with meals, assisting with excretion...
Everything is sustained by human hands and money.

I do not want people to take for granted what someone else is bearing,
‘because they are family,’ ‘because it is a facility,’ ‘because it is caregiving’.
That only leads to a distorted relationship.

I strongly realize this while being in the field.

How would you feel about this?

"It can't be helped if the fees are overdue."
"I feel sorry for the grandmother."
"Nursing homes must be tough."

How did you feel?
What I clearly felt through this incident.

Caregiving is not volunteer work.

Being on the front lines, I keenly feel the weight of these words.

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