Top court calls for stronger nursing home management, safety

China's top court called for nursing homes to strengthen management and safety protection measures to give stronger protection to elderly people.

In a case disclosed by the Supreme People's Court on Wednesday, a nursing home in Linghai, Northeast China's Liaoning province, was ordered to pay more than 110,000 yuan ($17,027) in compensation to the family of a former resident surnamed Zhou, as its lack of management caused Zhou's death.

Zhou, who was in his 80s, was sent to the nursing home by his family on Jan 17, 2017. At that time, Zhou's children told the nursing home that Zhou had frostbite and had gotten lost before.

But about 10 days later, Zhou went missing and his body was found under a bridge near the center on Jan 28 that year.

Zhou's children were angry and then initiated a lawsuit. After an investigation, the Linghai court concluded the center's nightshift workers neglected their duties, as they did not watch monitoring systems.

The center also had no signs or early-warning systems to ensure the safety of the elderly residents and prevent them from leaving the building, the court said, adding the nursing home should be held liable and compensate Zhou's family.

Wang Dan, a judge from the No 1 Civil Division with the country's top court, said that improving the quality of nursing home services and taking more effective measures to ensure the safety of senior citizens are necessary and urgent, as the population of China is rapidly aging.

She took the case in Linghai as an example, calling for nursing homes nationwide to intensify more efforts to better protect the legitimate rights of elderly people by strengthening their management and increasing inspections to reduce safety risks.

On Wednesday, the top court also disclosed verdicts in nine other influential cases involving elderly people, demanding all Chinese courts accurately apply the Civil Code, which took effective on Jan 1, and give more protection to senior citizens by efficiently handling relevant cases.