4) On-site Survey of Detention Facilities
In accordance with the right to health prescribed by the Constitution and UN
international standards, inmates in detention facilities should be guaranteed of not only
health and medical services, but also of overall conditions enabling maintenance of
appropriate levels of a healthy state.
Although there has been a series of efforts to ensure the right to health to the inmates
since the establishment of the Commission, a significant number of complaints are still
received on the environment of detention facilities related to the right to health in detention
facilities, including the right to receive external medical treatment. The Commission
collected demands of inmates, examined the healthcare status, and conducted quantitative
and qualitative investigation into working conditions and demands of medical
professionals in detention facilities nationwide. Based on the result, the Commission issued
necessary policy measures to ensure the right to health in detention facilities.
5) Welfare Facilities for the Elderly
The Long-term Care Insurance system was adopted in August 2008 and has offered
institutional or residential care for elderly people who have difficulty in leading their
everyday lives on their own for more than six months due to senile ailments such as
dementia. The system has been evaluated largely as a success for its past two-year
performance as it has successfully ensured the economic, social and cultural rights of the
elderly by serving the needs of the elderly and expanding their healthcare options.
Nevertheless, criticisms were raised not only on its inefficient functioning of the early
adoption stage, but also on the quality of the system itself.
The Competition among service providers increased the possibility that the rights of the
elderly were undermined in their pursuit of greatest profit, rather than quality
improvement.
Bearing the problems in mind, the Commission decided to conduct on-site surveys on
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Part II. Major Activities of the Commission