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Following is a question by the Hon Lee Cheuk-yan and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (February 18):
Question :
Will the Government inform this Council of the number of complaints received in each of the past three years about the services of residential care homes for the elderly and, among such complaints, the respective numbers of those relating to the application of physical restraint, residents falling down, and skin conditions of residents?
Reply:
President,
In the past three years, the Licensing Office of Residential Care Homes for the Elderly (LORCHE) of the Social Welfare Department received on average 274 complaints per annum about the services of residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs). The breakdown is as follows:
Complaints about the services of
Year RCHEs received by LORCHE
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2006 278
2007 279
2008 266
LORCHE updated the computer system for recording complaint cases and revised the statistical classifications at the end of 2007. Since then, statistics on complaint cases about the application of physical restraints have been recorded separately. Before then, LORCHE did not record complaints about the application of physical restraints, falls of RCHE residents and skin conditions separately. Complaints of such nature were all classified as complaints of "Care Services". Indeed, "Care Services" included other types of complaints, such as those relating to drug management, residents' privacy and infection control.
In 2008, LORCHE received a total of 18 complaints about the application of physical restraints. Complaints about falls of RCHE residents and skin conditions are recorded under the categories of "Handling of Accidents" or "Specialised Nursing Care", which also include other complaints relating to accidents and care services. For instance, "Handling of Accidents" includes complaints about the care of cuts, bruises, and scald injuries resulting from accidents, as well as delay in arranging residents suffering from accidental injuries to receive hospital treatment. On the other hand, "Specialised Nursing Care" includes complaints about tube feeding, handling of urinary catheter, and tracheostomy care, etc. In 2008, the numbers of complaints received by LORCHE under the categories of "Handling of Accidents" and "Specialised Nursing Care" were 26 and 13 respectively.
Ends/Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Issued at HKT 11:58
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