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LCQ10: Residential care homes for persons with disabilities
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    Following is a question by the Hon Fernando Cheung and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (June 27):

Question:

     Regarding the management and information about the residents and staffing position of the existing 37 private residential care homes for the persons with disabilities (PRCHDs) in the territory, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) whether it knows the breakdown on the number of PRCHD residents by their characteristics set out in Table 1.

(b) how the Government monitors the drug management of the above PRCHDs; and whether there were any incidents of wrong dispensation of medicines by these PRCHDs in the past three months; if so, of the details and remedial measures;

(c) whether the Government has monitored the meal arrangements in the above PRCHDs; if it has, please provide the menu and the nutrition information for a day of the above five PRCHDs which have successfully joined VRS; whether these PRCHDs have any residents who have swallowing difficulties or need help when drinking or eating; if they have, of the number of such residents and how PRCHDs assist them in drinking and eating;

(d) of the existing numbers of staff (including both part-time and full-time) in each of the above PRCHDs which have successfully joined VRS, and the respective manpower ratios of social workers, nurses and other nursing staff to PRCHD residents; and

(e) of a breakdown, by the type of PRCHDs in item (a) above, of the number of work injuries in the above 37 PRCHDs as well as the number of in-patient and accident and emergency attendances of PRCHD residents in the past five years?

Reply:

Madam President,

     Regarding Hon Fernando Cheung's question on the Voluntary Registration Scheme (VRS) for residential care homes for persons with disabilities currently implemented by the Social Welfare Department (SWD), our reply is set out in below.

(a) The breakdown of the number of residents of private residential care homes for persons with disabilities (PRCHDs) in Hong Kong is shown in Table 2.

(b) Staff of the Registration Office of Private Residential Care Homes for the Disabled (the Registration Office) under the SWD, including registered nurses, will carry out inspections at registered PRCHDs on a regular basis (at least once every three months) to monitor their drug management, including checking whether the PRCHDs have handled and dispensed drugs in compliance with appropriate procedures and maintaining the necessary records, so as to minimise the risks of wrong dispensation of medicines.  Where necessary, they will also give the PRCHDs professional advice to improve their drug management system.

     For the PRCHDs now carrying out the necessary improvement work, staff of the Registration Office will follow up on the progress of work and pay visits to them.  At the same time, registered nurses from the Registration Office will inspect the drug management of these PRCHDs and help them enhance their quality of services on this front.

     With regard to the PRCHDs that have not applied for the VRS, staff of the Planning and Coordinating Teams in various districts and the Registration Office under the SWD will take proactive actions by paying regular visits to them and giving them advice on their drug management.  Moreover, the Registration Office will also organise regular training courses and workshops on drug management for all relevant staff of the PRCHDs, with a view to enhancing their drug management skills.

     In the past three months, the SWD has not received any report of wrong dispensation of medicines by these PRCHDs or complaint against them.

(c) For the five PRCHDs which had successfully joined the VRS, registered nurses of the inspection team from the Registration Office will study the menu of these PRCHDs during their inspection visit to assess whether their meals can offer a balanced diet and whether preserved or canned food is frequently used as ingredients of their recipes.  The staff from the Registration Office will give advice where necessary.  A sample menu for a day of each of the five registered PRCHDs are at Annex A.

     For the other PRCHDs, registered nurses of the Registration Office and staff of the Planning and Coordinating Teams in various districts will examine the meals prepared by these PRCHDs and give on-the-spot advice during their visits to ensure a balanced diet for the residents.

     A total of three residents in the five registered PRCHDs are reported to have swallowing difficulties or need help when drinking or eating.  The PRCHDs have served them with minced food and provided them with feeding service in every meal.

(d) According to the staffing establishment set out in the Code of Practice for Residential Care Homes for Persons with Disabilities, the five PRCHDs which have successfully registered under the VRS have all complied with the basic staffing requirements for relevant homes (as in Annex B).

(e) None of the five PRCHDs which have successfully registered under the VRS have kept any detailed records of work injuries in the past five years but three cases of work injuries were reported last year.  The SWD does not maintain a record of the number of work injuries in the remaining 32 PRCHDs.  Last year, the reported numbers of in-patient and accident and emergency attendances of the residents of the five PRCHDs successfully registered under the VRS were 182 and 71 respectively.  The SWD does not maintain a record of the corresponding figures of the remaining PRCHDs.

Ends/Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:18

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