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A successful "ageing in place" policy which focused on the integration of medical and social provision of care should start "at home" - in the community in which the elders reside, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said this morning (October 9).
Speaking at the CADENZA Symposium 2009: Primary Care and Older Persons - Key to Medical and Social Integration, Mr Cheung said that the adequate provision of community care and support services was the key to enabling elders to remain at home while ageing.
"In this connection, new initiatives have been introduced towards this goal in the past few years," he said.
The $96 million Integrated Discharge Support Trial Programme for Elderly Patients launched in March 2008 in collaboration with the Hospital Authority (HA) provided "one-stop" support services to help elderly patients stay in the community after hospital discharge, Mr Cheung said.
"This is a big leap forward in medical and social integration in the provision of elderly care and services as it adopts a multi-disciplinary approach to provide seamless care for elderly hospital dischargees by meeting both their rehabilitation and social needs.
"Elderly patients are provided with pre-discharge and post-discharge services such as formulation of discharge care plans and provision of transitional community care and support services through a Discharge Planning Team set up under the concerned HA hospital, and a Home Support Team operated by a Non-Government Organisation.
"A total of about 20,000 elders and 7,000 carers are expected to be served under the three pilots now being carried out in Kwun Tong, Kwai Tsing and Tuen Mun districts," he said.
Another new initiative is the "District-based Scheme on Carer Training" launched in October 2007.
To help carers of elders who often bear the brunt of looking after Hong Kong's senior citizens, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and Department of Health (DH) have jointly developed a comprehensive set of training materials which included understanding of the common ailments in elders and the relevant care skills as well as the psychological changes elders may undergo as they age.
"More than half of the 750-plus individuals who completed the first round of training have joined the pool of carer-helpers. It is expected that another 1,500 individuals will be trained this year." Mr Cheung said.
Meanwhile, efforts have also been made to support residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) to enhance their capability in taking care of elders in the past years.
"At present, there are more than 26,000 subsidised residential care places for elders in Hong Kong and we are mindful of the importance of a viable support system for elders and carers in institutionalised settings," Mr Cheung said.
Infirmary Care Supplement and Dementia Supplement have been provided to enable RCHEs to employ additional staff, including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses (registered or enrolled nurses), health workers and care workers to enhance the care for needy elders.
"Doctors and nurses of HA's Community Geriatric Assessment Teams and Psychogeriatric Teams, as well as DH's Visiting Health Teams, pay regular visits to RCHEs to provide medical assessments and support services. Community nurses also provide on-site nursing care for elderly residents to ensure that they receive appropriate care," he said.
To alleviate the problem of nurse shortage in RCHEs, the Social Welfare Department has been collaborating with the Hospital Authority in organising a two-year full-time Enrolled Nurses Training Programme for the social welfare sector since 2006.
"Of the first batch of graduates, 85% are now working in the social welfare sector, and a total of 930 training places will be provided in 2011."
Mr Cheung thanked the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the University of Hong Kong, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong for organising the CADENZA Symposium which gave experts and service providers an opportunity to exchange ideas on the topics of integration which would, in turn, help policy-makers better rise to the challenges of an ageing population.
Ends/Friday, October 9, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:05
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