************************************************************
The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, visited two elderly homes in Tak Tin Estate, Lam Tin, today (January 24) to extend his warmest wishes to elderly residents at the beginning of the Year of the Dragon.
Accompanied by the Chairman of Wofoo Social Enterprises, Mr Joseph Lee, and other broad members, Mr Cheung first visited Grace Nursing Home, where he joined a birthday celebration for two centenarians.
During a visit to the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Home of Loving Care for the Elderly in the same building, Mr Cheung sang new year songs with the elderly residents to share the joy of the Lunar New Year.
He also presented mandarins to residents in both elderly homes to wish them good health and fortune.
Mr Cheung said, "With an ageing population in Hong Kong, the Government attaches great importance to elderly care, with an ever increasing commitment of resources in recent years. The estimated recurrent expenditure on social security, elderly care and medical service for elders in 2011-12 amounts to $39.6 billion, up 25 per cent from $31.8 billion in 2007-08 and taking up 16.4 per cent of recurrent government expenditure. On elderly care services alone, estimated government spending amounts to $4.39 billion in 2011-12, up nearly 12 per cent over the previous year.
"With residential care being one key element of the elderly care services, in particular those for the frail elders, we will continue to increase the supply of subsidised places in nursing homes and care-and-attention homes. From now until 2014-15, seven new contract homes will come into operation. Altogether, some 2 300 new subsidised places will be provided through various types of residential service. The number of additional subsidised nursing home places accounts for an increase of almost 50 per cent over the existing places.
"Apart from that, we will continue to seek both qualitative and quantitative improvement of private residential care homes for the elderly through the Enhanced Bought Place Scheme.
"Furthermore, we will continue to enhance community care services for the elderly under our policy to promote 'ageing in place as the core, institutional care as backup'. To this end, the number of community care services places has been continuously on the rise in recent years. The launch of a pilot scheme on Community Care Voucher for Elders has also been announced in the 2011-12 Policy Address," Mr Cheung said.
Ends/Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Issued at HKT 13:40
NNNN
