For the 340 people of Noto
There are 340 elderly people in Noto.
The elderly are gradually becoming more severe, and eventually, they will require end-of-life care.
If we are to build a nursing facility for the 340 people locally, a hospital will also be necessary.
However, this is financially unfeasible for private companies.
The only option is to build a national health center and hospital.
Above all, there is a shortage of staff.
The only solution is to create a fully residential public hospital.
Since there would also need to be schools for the families of staff members, it would have to be a one-year rotational system for single staff members.
The only institutions that could manage this would be national hospitals, university-affiliated hospitals, Self-Defense Force hospitals, or prefectural hospitals.
The only solution may be to relocate the disaster victims to urban areas.
Looking at the Great East Japan Earthquake, families relocated to cities with jobs and schools, and they never returned.
It seems like they are just evading the difficult reality with mere pretense.
Subsidies alone cannot provide the care needed for people.
If we must do it locally, then we need to have both a fully residential resort hotel and a special elderly care facility.
This would likely involve a prefectural hospital, a social welfare corporation’s third sector, and a regional medical collaboration corporation.
But for this to happen, there must be politicians who are determined to pursue this.
What is needed is not a strategy to ensure the survival of a hospital with no future, but a regional medical collaboration corporation that will support future regional healthcare and welfare.
Alternatively, if it is done under a designated management system, the government might cover all construction costs.
To gather workers in Noto, free reconstruction support housing, daycare centers, and elementary schools are essential.
Although everyone knows it’s unrealistic, no one dares to say it.
What should be done?
It may be necessary to make Noto a special zone designated by the country.
There’s no point in indulging in impossible fantasies.
What kind of action will the new Disaster Prevention Agency take?
Yasunari Koyama