Social Welfare | 213
among elders and enhance community care for them. During the year, 291 programmes were implemented, with grants amounting to $2.7 million. These programmes are in line with the Government's ongoing initiative of promoting active. and healthy ageing.
Community Support Services
Community support services are provided to elders who require assistance to continue living at home. Support is also provided for their care-givers. At year-end, there were 260 centres for the elderly (including district elderly community centres, day-care centres/units for the elderly, social centres for the elderly and neighbourhood elderly centres), 110 elderly services teams (including district-based integrated home care services teams, enhanced home and community care services teams, support teams for the elderly, and a home help team), and one holiday centre for the elderly. In August 2004, integrated home care services (frail cases) were extended to people with disabilities and suffering from a severe physical handicap. They provide a comprehensive package of care services including personal and nursing care and rehabilitation exercises to disabled persons to help them live in the community.
Under the Senior Citizen Card Scheme, 958 191 Senior Citizen Cards have been issued by year-end. A total of 8 263 companies, organisations, government departments with 14 819 units and outlets, and 1 854 medical units with 2 074 branches participated in the scheme to provide concessions, discounts and priority services to senior citizens.
Residential Care Services
Residential care services are provided for elders who need daily care and are unable to live at home for various reasons. At year-end, there were 26 987 subsidised residential care places for the elderly, including 7 398 self-care (S/C) hostel places and home for the aged (H/A) places, 11 587 subsidised care-and-attention home places, 1 765 subsidised nursing home places, and 6 237 purchased places in private residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs).
To meet the growing care needs of elders, SWD will gradually convert existing S/C and H/A places into long-term care places starting from 2005, to provide frail elders with continuous of care up to nursing home level.
The Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance provides legislative control over all RCHES. Upon all RCHES meeting the required licensing standard in 2002, a number of service improvement measures have been taken to further upgrade the service quality, particularly that of private homes. These initiatives include the enhancement of infection control measures in RCHES since end-2003, dissemination of information to the public and stepping up prosecution actions against non-compliant homes. Meanwhile, the department is reviewing and amending the Code of Practice for Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) to strengthen the health care and service quality of RCHES to safeguard the well-being of residents.