LCQ9: Assistance for persons with disabilities and the elderly
*******************************************************

     Following is a question by the Hon Wong Sing-chi and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (October 27):

Question:

     Quite a number of persons with disabilities (PWDs) and elderly people have relayed to me that the subsidised places in residential care homes for PWDs and residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) are currently inadequate, and the relevant support services provided in the community are also insufficient, resulting in the people in need can receive no services despite years of waiting. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

(a) of the respective number of places and quotas, number of persons on the waiting list and the average waiting time for places and services provided by the various types of subsidised RCHEs, residential care homes for PWDs and Community Care Services for the elderly and PWDs at present, with a breakdown by District Council (DC) district (list in table form);

(b) of the respective increases in places and quotas planned for the various types of subsidised RCHEs, residential care homes for PWDs and Community Care Services for the elderly and PWDs for the next five years, with a breakdown by DC district (list in table form);

(c) of the quotas for the various support services provided for carers of PWDs and the elderly at present, with a breakdown by DC district (list in table form); and

(d) of the types of assistance currently provided by the Government to the elderly, PWDs and their carers who are waiting for the aforesaid places and services?
 
Reply:

President,

     My reply to Hon Wong Sing-chi's question is as follows:

(a) Regarding residential care services for the elderly, the number of various types of subsidised residential care places is listed by District Council district at Table 1 (Annex refers).

     As at the end of September 2010, there were 20,328 elders in the territory waiting for subsidised care-and-attention (C&A) places and 6,535 waiting for subsidised nursing home (NH) places. Since applicants can choose to wait for residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) in different districts at the same time, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) is unable to provide a breakdown of the number of applicants by district.

     The average waiting time for various types of residential care places for the elderly is as follows:

Types of places         Average waiting time
                                (in months)

C&A places                          24
- Places in subvented homes
  and contract homes                35
- Places provided under the          8
  Enhanced Bought Place Scheme
  (EBPS)
NH places                           43

     As SWD has not drawn up separate waiting lists for individual districts, it is unable to provide the waiting time by district.

     For community care services for the elderly, the number of service places by district is listed at Table 2 (Annex refers).

     As at the end of September 2010, 1,451 elders in the territory were waiting for day care services, and the average waiting time was about eight months. As regards home care services, 747 elders in the territory were waiting for the service, and the average waiting time was about three months.

     The waiting time for day care and home care services for the elderly in individual districts is affected by many different factors, such as the number of places in individual service units made available through natural wastage, the number of elders waiting for services in the same district, the specific requirements of the applicants for service providers, etc. Therefore, the waiting time in individual districts often varies significantly and cannot accurately reflect the waiting situation.

     In respect of rehabilitation services, information on service provision, waiting list and average waiting time for various types of subsidised residential care homes for persons with disabilities (PWDs) is set out at Table 3 and Table 4 (Annex refers). For PWDs living in the community, SWD will provide them with various day care and training services. Information on service provision, waiting list and average waiting time of the relevant services is set out at Table 5 and Table 6 (Annex refers). In addition, SWD also provides other types of community support services for PWDs and their parents, e.g. District Support Centre for Persons with Disabilities, Community Rehabilitation Day Centre, Transitional Care and Support Centre for Tetraplegic Patients, Day Care Service for Persons with Severe Disabilities, Residential Respite Service, Parents/Relatives Resource Centre for Disabled Persons and Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness, etc. There are no fixed service quota and central waiting list for these services. PWDs may apply for the services with the relevant operating units directly.
 
(b) Regarding residential care services for the elderly, 1,716 additional subsidised residential care places will come on stream in the coming four years, as listed below:

Types of              No. of places
places              (according to the
                service commencement year
                     of the places)

           2010-11 2011-12  2012-13  2013-14
           -------   -------  -------  -------

NH places    80        592      278      145
C&A places   581         14       11       15

     We increase the provision of various types of residential care places mainly by constructing new contract homes, purchasing places from self-financing or private RCHEs and making full use of available space in existing homes. Since the geographic distribution of some additional residential care places depends on the response of RCHEs in different districts to the purchase scheme and the progress of related work, we cannot provide the distribution of the additional places by district for the time being.

     Apart from the above additional places, the Chief Executive (CE) has introduced in this year's Policy Address a series of measures to further increase the provision of subsidised residential care places, which include providing additional higher-quality subsidised places under EBPS.

     As for community care services for the elderly, in the coming three years, we will provide a total of 141 additional day care places for the elderly in Kowloon City, Sai Kung, Kwun Tong and Yau Tsim Mong districts. Besides, the Pilot Scheme on Home Care Services for Frail Elders targeting elders living at home and waiting for NH places will be launched in March 2011. The Scheme is expected to serve 510 elders residing in Kowloon within three years. In addition, CE has just announced in his Policy Address that subsidised home care places will be significantly increased next year. Details will be announced in the Budget in February next year.

     As regards PWDs, SWD's planned provision of additional places for residential care services and day care and training services for PWDs in the next five years are set out at Table 7 and Table 8 respectively (Annex refers). We will continue to step up efforts in identifying new resources and suitable sites for setting up new residential care homes and service centres in order to maintain a steady increase in the provision of places for rehabilitation services.

(c) In respect of carers of elders, the Government provides support services for them through 41 District Elderly Community Centres, 117 Neighbourhood Elderly Centres, 59 Day Care Centres/Units for the Elderly and 85 home care service teams throughout the territory. These services include the provision of information, training and counselling, assistance in forming carers' mutual-assistance groups, setting up resource centres, provision and loan of rehabilitation equipment, etc. All subsidised RCHEs and day care centres also provide respite services so that carers can take a break or attend to other business, thereby relieving their stress.

     In addition, we have launched the District-based Scheme on Carer Training since 2007, providing subsidy for elderly centres to partner with local community organisations in organising carer training programmes and launching carer services. In 2009, we extended the Scheme to cover all districts in the territory. At present, there are 114 elderly centres participating in the Scheme. About 2,400 individuals have been trained and some 4,000 others are now receiving training.

     In respect of care services for PWDs, we strive to provide day care, training and community support services to PWDs with a view to enabling them to live independently and strengthening the carers' caring capacity to relieve their stress. Information on the provision of relevant services can be found at Table 5 (Annex refers).

(d) In respect of elders, the Government has been providing various kinds of subsidies and services for elders waiting for subsidised residential care places. As at the end of August 2010, among the some 26,000 elders waiting for subsidised places, more than 14,000 were receiving different kinds of government subsidies or services, including:

* over 3,000 elders using subsidised community care services;

* about 300 elders using subsidised residential care services of a lower care level;

* over 7,500 elders staying in non-subsidised residential care places in private RCHEs and receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA)ˇFand

* over 3,300 elders living at home and receiving CSSA.

     The Government also encourages elders to use subsidised community care services while waiting for residential care places. As mentioned in part (b) above, we will launch the Pilot Scheme on Home Care Services for Frail Elders in early 2011, targeting elders on the waiting list for NH places, to provide them with tailor-made services so that they will be taken care of properly while waiting for NH places.

     As regards PWDs, at present, the majority of PWDs waiting for subsidised residential care places and their families are receiving day care, training and community support services as mentioned in the above paragraphs. To facilitate PWDs in getting their required services at the same centre of the district, SWD has set up 16 district-based District Support Centres for Persons with Disabilities across the territory to provide one-stop support services for PWDs and their carers. Furthermore, the Government will launch a three-year "Pilot Scheme on Home Care Service for Persons with Severe Disabilities" in March 2011 to provide persons with severe physical and intellectual disabilities who are living in the community and are on the waiting lists for subsidised residential care services with a package of home-based support services, which include personal care and escort service, occupational therapist/physiotherapist rehabilitation training service and nursing care service. The Scheme will be tried out in Tuen Mun and Kwun Tong which have the largest numbers of persons with severe disabilities waiting for residential care services. We expect that a total of about 540 persons with severe disabilities will be served.

Ends/Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:51

NNNN