MUSCAT: The Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) has issued conditions and regulations for taking care of the elders in the alternative families which fall under the Ministry, through Official Gazette No (1552) on Monday.
Accordingly, an elderly person (everyone who has reached the age of 60 and fulfills the conditions stipulated in Article (3)) may be cared for through alternative families (the family that takes care of the elderly), and this care is considered work voluntary work that is done without compensation, and the Ministry may provide assistance to alternative families in this way, as per Article (2) which stipulates regulations for the care of the elderly.
The elderly person whose care is entrusted to the alternative family must be an Omani national who has a family, or his family does not provide him with care in an appropriate manner, based on the social examination conducted by the competent department.
He must be free of infectious diseases according to a medical report issued by a health institution and this has exceptions from any of these conditions according to the circumstances of each case and the Ministry has the call on it.
On the other hand, Article 4 stipulates that the alternative family should have at least one Omani nationality within the family and it should be socially stable and capable of meeting the needs of the elderly in reality and this shall be confirmed after a social research conducted by the relevant department.
Likewise, the family members should be free from contagious diseases or behavioural disorders and should provide a stable source of income for the family that covers its needs.
Also, the Article further suggests that the family’s place of residence must be appropriate and there can be an exception to care for the elderly by an individual who is capable of caring and meets the same conditions.
The person or family which meets the above requirements shall submit a request to care for an elderly person from a family member to the competent department in the stipulated format with:
1. Copy of the applicant’s ID card
2. Copies of the marriage contract for the family
3. Non-conviction certificate for all family members
4. Evidence that the applicant has a stable source of income
5. Copies of the house ownership or rental contract, and
6. A medical report issued by a health institution proving that the family members are free of infectious diseases or behavioural disorders.
The competent department shall study the request for care for the elderly and decide on it within thirty days from the date of completion of the required documents, and if the application is rejected, the applicant may appeal the rejection decision within 60 days from the date of his notification.
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