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The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, visited a private residential care home for people with disabilities in Sheung Shui this morning (January 7) to see the provision of residential care service for the needy.
At present, there are 254 residential care homes for people with disabilities, providing about 13,000 residential places. Forty-five of them are private residential care homes.
Plans are being made to introduce a licensing scheme to regulate the operation of residential care homes for people with disabilities. In preparation for the licensing scheme, the Social Welfare Department implemented a Voluntary Registration Scheme for privately-run homes from September 2006 as an interim measure to encourage operators of these homes to enhance their service quality.
The residential care home Mr Cheung visited today joined the Voluntary Registration Scheme in May 2007 and has fulfilled the requirements on general management, health care, building safety and fire safety under the scheme.
During the visit, Mr Cheung was briefed by the operators of the residential care home on their home¡¦s profile of residents, fee levels and staffing, and listened to their views on the Government¡¦s plan to introduce the licensing scheme. He also met and talked to some residents about their living conditions and the support services provided by the home.
¡§I hope that more operators of privately-run residential care homes will join the Voluntary Registration Scheme to enhance the quality of service for people with disabilities,¡¨ he said, adding that the private sector had a useful role to play in this area.
Ends/Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:36
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