ปัญหากฎหมายเกี่ยวกับการประกอบธุรกิจให้บริการดูแลผู้สูงอายุ / พิชาณี สำเภาเงิน = Legal problems relating to business of elderly care service / Pichanee Samphao-ngoen
The business of elderly care service plays a vital role in elderly care system and trends to increase in the future. According to the Thai Constitution B.E. 2550, it is the state policy to supervise and support the sustainability in good health for all and the elderly care service is unquestionable fall within this policy. Since the nature of elderly care service business may harm elder’s health and needs special knowledge and skills of service providers, thus under the Constitution, legislations stipulating standards of this business are the essential mechanism to regulate such business and protect service consumers accordingly. This research revealed that the existing laws are not suitable enough to regulate service providers and to protect service consumers. 1) Regulations applied to care homes with nursing and care home without nursing are inappropriate. 2) Regulations regulating home health care service are varied in each area. 3) The introductory agency service is not fully clarified whether it is a regulated business. 4) There is no measure under consumer protection law to control service business. 5) Measures under law on contract and unfair contract term which depend on the court procedure cannot provide service consumers fairness in due course. 6) Measure under the tort law is to remedy and indemnify occurred loss and damage, not a preventive measure. The recommendations are that the business of elderly care service both in form of residential care and home health care should be regulated and standardized. The legislations must set standards regarding commencement, operation and termination of such business. Legal measures are separated into 2 steps: 1) in a short term, the definition of “sanatorium” under the Sanatorium Act B.E. 2541 should be amended to include care home without nursing. In addition, the ministerial notification regarding standards of elderly service in a sanatorium under the Sanatorium Act B.E. 2541 and the ministerial regulation specifying rules of home health care service under the Public Health Act B.E. 2535 should be announced; and 2) in a long term, to serve the state policy under the Constitution and to supervise and promote the business sector efficiently and integrally, the Elderly Care Service Business Act should be drafted and enacted. Moreover, the specific committee should be set up as a responsible authority.