There are about 160,000 registered nurses working across the country, but only 144 specialise in elderly care.

More nurses and specialist nurses, known as advance practice nurses (APNs), will be trained by Ramathibodi Hospital to tackle the national crisis from the ageing society.

Renu Pookboonmee, director of the Ramathibodi School of Nursing, told a press conference yesterday that the APNs would be trained in fields including paediatrics, medical-surgical nursing, gerontology, psychiatry, midwifery, nurse practitioner, infections and anaesthetics.

APNs are required to hold a bachelor’s degree and have some experience in their chosen areas.

The hospital aims to boost enrolment in its nursing school from 230 trainees per year to 350 within 10 years.

About 14.5 per cent of the population, or 9.4 million out of 64.5 million, are over 60 so the country is considered as an ageing society.

And in 10 years, 14.4 million or 20 per cent of the population will be over 60 years old.

Thailand will be the first ageing country in Asean, 20 years ahead of other members.

Elderly above 60 face many increased risks of disease.

About 41.4 per cent of them suffer from hypertension, 37.4 per cent dental problems, 18.2 per cent diabetes, 13.4 per cent depressive disorder and 8.6 per cent osteoarthritic knees.

About 1 million are stuck at home and need intensive care.

The greying of society also means the country will pay more for healthcare.

In 1980, the government spent Bt25.31 million on healthcare, but in 2005 the bill shot up to Bt434.97 million, or by a factor of 17.2 in 25 years.

“More and more elderly will be coming up every year, and there is a tendency that we might not have enough hospitals if we don’t improve or support our staff to be more efficient in tackling care of the elderly,” she added.