H
17
They later joined the elderly in the Physiotherapy Unit to see how they received the treatment that would help them restore or maintain physical ability.
Dr Chang explained to Mrs Lau and Mr Wilson that the community geriatric assessment service was first introduced by the Hospital Authority in 1993/94 to meet the growing demand for social and medical services of the increasing elderly population in the community.
"The teams pay regular visits to elderly homes to do medical assessment and follow-up. This will facilitate the continuity of care, provide timely diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of the health problems, and contribute to secondary and tertiary prevention to improve the functional status and quality of life for the elderly."
Dr Chang pointed out that the Hospital Authority was committed to developing these community-based assessment teams with the objectives to improve the health of elderly persons and to decrease the number of elderly persons requiring hospitalisation.
At present, more than 14,000 elderly persons reside in such institutions run by non-government organisations.
"Such teams are able to improve significantly the physical and cognitive functions of the elderly.
In
"Take the Chi Lin Care and Attention Home as an example. quantitative terms, the monthly average out-patient attendance of residents of the home has dropped by 4.8 times, accident and emergency attendance by 100 per cent and hospital admissions by 37.6 per cent," Dr Chang said.
"The health care professionals of the teams provide expert and timely assessment of both the high-risk elderly and their home environment through domiciliary visits with a view to providing early treatment of medical conditions and reducing the incidence of falls and fractures.