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Following is a question by Hon Cheung Kwok-che and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (June 3):
Question:
At present, there are four subvented Community Rehabilitation Day Centres (day centres) in Hong Kong, namely Haven of Hope Christian Service Haven of Hope Community Rehabilitation Day Centre, Christian Family Service Centre Community Rehabilitation Day Centre (Family Service Centre), SAHK NTE Community Rehabilitation Day Centre (SAHK Centre) and The Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council NT West Community Rehabilitation Day Centre (Neighbourhood Centre). The day centres provide treatment and rehabilitation training services for specific categories of newly discharged patients to help them integrate into the community, and provide training for the family members/ carers of these patients to help enhance their caring capabilities and relieve the pressure faced by them in taking care of patients on a long-term basis. On the other hand, if there is a need for the day centres to replace worn-out therapeutic apparatuses with replacement costs exceeding $50,000 each, the day centres may, under Chapter 5 of the Lotteries Fund Manual, apply for major (other) grants under the Lotteries Fund for the replacement, provided that the apparatuses have been approved by the Social Welfare Department to be standard items required for providing the services (the approved standard items). Regarding the number, service quotas, manpower and therapeutic apparatuses of day centres, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that in 2013-2014, the average daily attendance for the physiotherapy/ occupational therapy and training services provided by the SAHK Centre was 145, which was two times more than the attendance of 60 stipulated in the Funding and Service Agreement (FSA), and the attendance for the relevant services provided by Neighbourhood Centre in the same year was 99, which also exceeded the attendance of 80 stipulated in the FSA, whether the authorities will provide additional resources for these day centres to increase their service quotas and manpower; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) given that from 2010-2011 to 2013-2014, the number of people waiting for the services of Neighbourhood Centre stood at a yearly average of 220, which was significantly higher than those of the other three day centres and reflected a great demand for such services from New Territories West residents, whether the authorities will consider setting up an additional day centre in the district; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) given that in 2013-2014, Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients accounted for nearly 25 per cent of the service recipients of the four day centres on average, and the relevant percentage for Family Service Centre was even close to 40 per cent, reflecting a great demand for such services from CSSA recipients, and yet it has been learnt that some CSSA recipients have given up receiving rehabilitation treatment services due to their inability to pay the fees, whether the authorities will consider relaxing the policy to allow CSSA recipients to receive rehabilitation treatment services provided by the day centres for free; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) of the details of the approved standard items; of the number of applications for grants for replacing apparatuses made by the various day centres as well as the amount involved in each of the past five years and, among them, the number of applications rejected for the reason that the apparatuses were not standard items (with a breakdown by day centre); and
(5) whether the authorities will conduct a comprehensive review of the policy on day centres, including the number, manpower, service space and therapeutic apparatuses of day centres, and whether they will provide additional resources for the various day centres to assist them in enhancing their services; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the questions raised by the Hon Cheung Kwok-che is as follows:
(1) and (2) According to the Funding and Service Agreement (FSA) between the Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council NT West Community Rehabilitation Day Centre and the Social Welfare Department (SWD), the average daily attendance of discharged patients for its rehabilitation training programme should be no less than 80 people. In the past five years, the average daily attendance of the Centre was 146. Collaborative arrangements have all along been in place between the Centre and Tuen Mun Hospital, under which the latter will refer service users to the Centre for receiving post-discharge transitional services for six months. As regards the other three Community Rehabilitation Day Centres (CRDCs) mentioned in the question (i.e. Haven of Hope Christian Service Haven of Hope Community Rehabilitation Day Centre, Christian Family Service Centre Community Rehabilitation Day Centre, SAHK NTE Community Rehabilitation Day Centre), the average daily attendance over the past five years for rehabilitation training (81 people, 91 people and 59 people respectively) was similar to that stipulated in the FSA (80 people, 80 people and 60 people respectively).
After the regularisation of the home care service for persons with severe disabilities (HCS) and the integrated support service for persons with severe physical disabilities (ISS) by the Government in 2014, service operators have actively publicised and promoted these two new services among the healthcare personnel in the districts. In April this year, the Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council examined the classification of cases with Tuen Mun Hospital so as to refer discharged patients to the centre and the above two new services as appropriate, with a view to serving more discharged patients in need through optimising the use of various existing community support services. SWD will closely monitor the use of the said services and review the service needs.
(3) Under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme, eligible recipients are provided with special grants to cover fees for rehabilitation training services, outreaching home visit services provided by physiotherapists or occupational therapists, day respite care services and day care services for persons with severe disabilities in the CRDCs and relevant travelling expenses.
(4) In handling the applications to the Lotteries Fund (LF) for grants for replenishing or replacing rehabilitation devices made by CRDCs, SWD will assess these applications taking into account the individual circumstances of a CRDC, including whether the devices can raise the service quality and standard. According to the records of SWD, the SAHK NT East Community Rehabilitation Day Centre was granted $95,000 from the LF in 2014-15 for procurement of rehabilitation devices. The other three CRDCs mentioned in the question (i.e. Haven of Hope Christian Service Haven of Hope Community Rehabilitation Day Centre, Christian Family Service Centre Community Rehabilitation Day Centre and the Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council NT West Community Rehabilitation Day Centre) did not apply for grants from the LF to procure rehabilitation devices in the past five years.
(5) CRDCs provide short-term and transitional rehabilitation services for newly discharged patients, with a view to enhancing their capabilities of living independently in the community and facilitating their integration into society. On the other hand, HCS and ISS also provide home-based rehabilitation services for newly discharged patients with severe disabilities. SWD will closely monitor the development of and the demand for the above services and the co-ordination with other community support services, and will review the relevant service arrangements in a timely manner.
Ends/Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Issued at HKT 14:29
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