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The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, visited a private home for persons with disabilities in Kwai Chung today (August 6) to view the operation of the private home, which is participating in the Bought Place Scheme (BPS) for Private Residential Care Homes for Persons with Disabilities (RCHDs).
Mr Cheung noted that the home is a high care level home for persons with disabilities but also admits residents with medium or low care needs. Currently, over half of the residents need high-level care. Among them, 62 are admitted under the Social Welfare Department (SWD) BPS for RCHDs.
While touring different floors of the home, Mr Cheung chatted with the officer-in-charge, a social worker and an occupational therapist to understand the operation of the home and the training activities for residents. He also talked to health workers, care workers and ancillary workers about the training in care skills they received.
"Following a four-year pilot scheme, the SWD regularised the BPS for RCHDs in October last year. The aims are to encourage private operators of RCHDs to upgrade the service standard, shorten the waiting time for services by increasing the overall supply of subsidised residential care places, and enable the market to develop more service options. The number of subsidised places in each participating private RCHD has also been raised from 55 per cent to 70 per cent of its total recognised capacity. As at the end of June this year, there are nine private RCHDs participating in the scheme, providing a total of 450 bought places," Mr Cheung said.
Mr Cheung pointed out that the Government has been adopting a multi-pronged approach to shorten the waiting time for RCHD services. The funding applications for two mega projects - the integrated rehabilitation complexes at the sites of the ex-Kai Nang Sheltered Workshop and Hostel in Kwun Tong and the ex-Siu Lam Hospital in Tuen Mun - were approved by the Legislative Council's Finance Committee before the summer recess. The two projects will provide 1 150 and 300 residential care places respectively, an increase of more than 10 per cent over the current 12 820 places. Some 8 000 rehabilitation service places, of which 2 000 are residential places, will also be provided under the Special Scheme on Privately Owned Sites for Welfare Uses.
Mr Cheung added that to enhance the care skills of RCHD staff, the SWD has invited training institutes to organise a series of training courses applicable to RCHDs in accordance with relevant requirements. So far, the Licensing Office of RCHDs has arranged registration for more than 2 300 health workers who completed the health worker training courses in accordance with the Residential Care Homes (Persons with Disabilities) Regulation.
Ends/Thursday, August 6, 2015
Issued at HKT 17:00
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