The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) is providing hospital escort and post-discharge care services for single-person households so that those who live alone can gain safe and sound recovery after receiving treatment and surgery.

Initiated last November as part of Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s pledge, the city began providing its safe hospital escort service for single-person households and aims to provide inclusive health service programs for single-person households.

The city will conduct a pilot operation from Thu, Sep. 1 until the end of the year, and any single-person household in need of temporary post-discharge care is eligible to apply by phone (+82-2-1533-1179) and receive services (24 hours before discharge and within 30 days of discharge) regardless of age or income.

Single-person households will be eligible to receive assistance from caregivers for their day-to-day tasks which may seem minor but are inconvenient as patients living alone. This service will be available at a low cost of KRW 5,000 per hour for up to 60 hours.

Applicants are accepted once a year during the pilot operation period, and services will be provided for up to fifteen days (max. 60 hours) at any time from 8 AM to 8 PM on weekdays and at designated times on weekends.

The city will select qualifying applicants through consulting by professional managers who will evaluate their medical diagnosis, and caregivers will be assigned within 12 hours to those who qualify to provide necessary assistance for day-to-day activities and tasks from washing their face and cleaning their home to doing laundry and even going out.