204 Social Welfare
Over the years, more than 1.2 million Senior Citizen Cards have been issued to elderly persons in Hong Kong with which they may enjoy concessions, discounts and priority service provided by various companies, organisations and government departments.
Community Care and Support Services
At year-end, the Government was supporting 211 elderly centres (including District Elderly Community Centres, Neighbourhood Elderly Centres and social centres for the elderly), 126 service teams (including integrated home care services teams, enhanced home and community care services teams, support teams for the elderly and a home help team), 59 day care centres or units for the elderly and a holiday centre for elderly persons. Support is also provided for their carers.
Residential Care Services
At year-end, there was a total of 25 861 subsidised residential care places in Hong Kong, including 2 400 self-care hostel places and home-for-the-aged places, 21 227 care-and-attention (C&A) places (of which 7 184 were purchased from private residential care homes for the elderly (RCHES)), and 2 234 nursing home places (of which 43 were purchased from self-financing nursing homes).
To meet the growing care needs of the elderly, the SWD launched a phased conversion programme in 2005 to convert subsidised places with no long-term-care element into C&A places which could provide a continuum of care. By year-end, a total of 4 750 C&A places had been created through the conversion programme.
The Government is committed to enhancing the quality of RCHES. The Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation regulate these homes through a licensing system. The SWD also helps RCHES to improve their capability, ensuring that elderly residents will receive proper care. In a continuing effort to improve drug management in residential homes, the Government launched a three-year pilot scheme in June 2010 to provide RCHES with visiting pharmacist services. The objectives are to strengthen further the knowledge and capability of RCHES and their staff in drug management, thereby enhancing their quality of care for elders. It is estimated that about 70 to 80 RCHES will benefit from the scheme. In addition, the SWD jointly organised a series of talks with the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority in 2010 to enhance the drug management skills and knowledge of staff in the homes, in addition to forming a Working Group on Drug Safety in RCHES involving all relevant stakeholders.
Rehabilitation Services
With the aim of integrating persons with disabilities into society and helping them to develop their capabilities fully, government departments and NGOs provide a variety of rehabilitation services to meet their different needs. These services are co-ordinated by the Commissioner for Rehabilitation on the advice of the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee.