Shanghai will add 5,000 new beds to senior homes, and 2,000 beds will be refitted to meet the needs of those with cognitive disorders, the city government said yesterday during a conference mapping out the plans for local civil affairs work in 2021.

There will be 50 new community-based comprehensive senior service centers, and 200 new canteens providing meals for elderly residents.

To adapt to the digital age, seniors can take classes to learn about intelligent technologies, and more subdistricts and towns will be included in a trial of communities friendly for seniors with cognitive disorders.

A total of 77 subdistricts and towns have participated in the trial since 2019.

Residents over the age of 60 comprise more than 35 percent of the city’s permanent population. The Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau estimates that about 300,000 suffer from dementia, and the figure is rising.

By the end of 2020, the city had more than 4,500 hospital beds for seniors with cognitive disorders.

Fifteen-minute community-based senior-care service circles will be developed downtown, making community-care services such as nursing, day care, rehabilitation, clinical care and meals accessible to the elderly within easy walking distance.

The rating system for senior homes will be expanded, and a credibility system for senior-care service providers will also be established.