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He said before the survey, many people would have assumed that elderly men and women living alone would be the worst off in our community.
"In fact, the average benefits received by a single elderly Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme client, including the standard rate, special grants and supplements, currently come to a total of $2,710 a month," he said.
While saying that he had outlined ambitious programmes in his previous policy addresses, Mr Patten said the recommendations of last year's Working Group on Care for the Elderly had helped the Government refine its targets of meeting the needs of the increasing numbers of elderly people.
He said: "Since 1992, we have made considerable progress with our
programmes.
"We have provided nearly 5,000 special flats for the elderly in convenient urban locations since 1994. We have rehoused over 23,000 elderly people living in bedspaces and other unsuitable accommodation since 1992.
"A new priority scheme for the elderly has reduced their average waiting time for public housing by three years.
"We are already providing an extra 4,000 places in care-and-attention and old people's homes. We will provide a further 1,600 places this year.
"About 25,000 old people are already being served each year by our geriatric health teams, and the four new teams to be set up this year will serve an additional 9,000 clients a year.
"We have expanded facilities to treat the diseases of old age. For example, we have reduced the waiting time for cataract operations from 15 months to nine months."
This year the Government would spend a total of $9 billion on financial assistance and on our increasingly comprehensive health and welfare services for the elderly, an increase of 50 per cent in real terms over 1992, Mr Patten said.
"We are well on our way to creating a proper framework to meet the health, welfare and housing needs of old age," he added.
End/Wednesday, October 11, 1995