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Care for the elderly with spending of over $10 billion this year remains to be Mrs Fok's top priority. Highlights of some ongoing programmes in this area include:
upgrading the quality of private residential homes by implementing the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance;
developing a computerised integrated waiting list for all residential services for the elderly;
completing four nursing homes next year and the remaining two in the following year providing a total of 1,400 places; and
providing 5,768 more places in care and attention homes by the end of 1997.
While admitting there were slippages in some of these programmes, Mrs Fok stressed that the Government was doing all it could to minimise the delays concerned.
"But I hope you will all give due recognition to the fact that some of these targets are very ambitious even by Hong Kong's standards and the great bulk of them have been met by an enormous joint effort by Government and the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) concerned," she said.
In terms of new initiatives, she looked forward to seeing the new support network pilot scheme being implemented and to the results next year of the study of elderly needs which should set a framework for the future development of services for the elderly.
Turning to rehabilitation programmes, Mrs Fok said the Government aimed to provide an additional 1,800 residential places, 650 sheltered workshop places and 528 day activity centre places by the end of next year.
New amendments to the Mental Health Ordinance dealing with people unfit to plead in criminal proceedings by reason of a mental disability will be effective from November; and more wide ranging amendments, including greatly improved guardianship procedures and separate provisions for people with a mental handicap and a mental disorder, will also be introduced in January.
On child welfare, Mrs Fok pledged to continue to expand day nursery places despite difficulties in finding suitable private premises to purchase for them.