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Elderly Policy
Now I would like to address comments made by Members on the elderly. Care for the elderly has always been one of my top priorities. And this year we shall provide another 43 social centres for the elderly, 1 600 more residential places, 12 more home help teams and four medical and psychogeriatric outreach teams for elderly persons. This year, we will spend $10.2 billion on health, medical, welfare services and social security for the elderly which represents an increase of 13% over 1995/96. That is just over a quarter of the budget for the whole of my portfolio on both health and welfare. I think Members would agree that this is a substantial sum which demonstrates our commitment to making life better for those who have played their part in building the Hong Kong of today.
Our policy for the elderly nevertheless, needs constant review as the demographic profile of our population and the nature of services needed to support the elderly change. That is why we expect to commission a consultancy within the next two weeks to study the needs of elderly people, review current services and recommend what services would best meet the needs identified. It will not be easy to meet the needs of our growing elderly population. But we are determined to ensure that our current services and our planning for future services are as effective as they can be.
Elderly Outreach and Social Networking
Several Members mentioned the need to enhance the outreaching service for the elderly. We already have a network of support provided by home helpers, caseworkers of family service centres and medical social services, medical staff in outreach medical teams, volunteers of all ages including elderly volunteers, mutual help groups and estate liaison officers in public housing estates. All of these, in one way or another, reach out to the elderly. And, of course, families and neighbours also play an important part.
To bring all these together in a more structured approach, we have announced a new initiative to mobilise professionals and volunteers in the districts to reach out to the elderly. Our District Social Welfare Officers will work with other relevant Government departments to draw up a list of vulnerable elderly people living alone in every district. Service providers and volunteers from local organizations /groups will be identified to establish a network for the purpose of maintaining regular contacts with the elderly persons, to provide them with support and assistance, including making referrals for formal services when necessary. More professional staff, at an extra cost of about $17 million, will be given to multi-service centres for the elderly for this two-year pilot project.