​In response to the direct investigation operation report on "Respite Services for Supporting Carers of Elderly Persons and Persons with Disabilities" released by the Office of The Ombudsman today (October 9), the Social Welfare Department (SWD) welcomed the investigation conducted by The Ombudsman. The SWD noted The Ombudsman's recognition of the Government's efforts and effectiveness in strengthening support for carers in recent years and expanding the respite service network. The SWD has accepted all the recommendations made by The Ombudsman and is actively taking follow-up actions, of which some have already been implemented or are currently in progress. The SWD will continue to strive for enhancements of respite services provided by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and private residential care homes for the convenience of people in needs.
     
     The SWD has rolled out a number of innovative initiatives in recent years as well as improvement measures in response to the recommendations of The Ombudsman, adopting a multipronged approach to enable and encourage elderly persons and persons with disabilities to use respite services provided by the service units, including:
     
(1) Requesting all residential care homes for the elderly, residential care homes for persons with disabilities and day care centres/units to make use of their casual vacancies to provide respite services, as well as reviewing the distribution and utilitisation of respite places across districts in order to reallocate the quota of designated respite places;

(2) Reminding service units to update in a timely manner the information of the Vacancy Enquiry System for Respite Services/Emergency Placement, simplify the application procedures and not to impose additional examination items beyond the basic medical examination. Service units have also been requested to enhance training for frontline staff to provide more comprehensive and quality services to applicants. The SWD will continue to monitor the utilisation of respite services and take appropriate regulatory actions according to the established mechanism if any situation of non-compliance is noted; 

(3) Organising visits and tasting programmes of respite services, which encourage carers to experience the services in advance, so that they can gain an understanding of the service and build confidence in the service providers, making it easier for the care recipients to become accustomed to the environment and use the services smoothly when needed. As at end-June 2025, more than 270 visits and tasting programmes of respite services were organised;

(4) Sustaining publicity efforts in encouraging carers to make good use of the 24-hour Designated Hotline for Carer Support 182 183 (the Carer Hotline) to match day or residential respite services for needy elderly persons and persons with disabilities. The number of case referrals made by the Carer Hotline for respite services has significantly increased from 18 in the first six months of its operation to more than 240 as at end-August this year; and

(5) Continuously expanding the respite service network by increasing the number of service points providing day respite services for persons with disabilities from over 40 to 70 in the past two years, and that for day respite service for elderly persons from 50 to over 300 across the territory, making it more convenient for elderly persons and persons with disabilities to use the services at their preferred location.

     The Ombudsman has mentioned in the report that the average annual utilisation rates of designated residential respite places in some service units or districts are relatively low. The SWD explained that respite services are of a standby nature. Their actual demands are highly volatile and difficult to predict, making them different from general long-term residential care services. The rationale for the SWD offering more respite placements is to enable carers in matching with appropriate respite services when they have emergency needs. Considering the needs of carers to arrange temporary care for elders or persons with disabilities on ad hoc basis and the persistently high occupancy rate of long-term care places in residential care homes, the SWD set up designated respite places in some residential care homes across the territory to cater for the unexpected needs of carers. In the event of emergencies, such as the recent building power outages, typhoons or the evacuation of residents due to a wartime bomb-defusing operation, respite places have served the purpose in a timely manner of providing a temporary accommodation for affected elderly persons or persons with disabilities. As pointed out by The Ombudsman, the relatively low utilisation rates of residential respite places for persons with disabilities is due to fewer actual casual vacancies than expected. Under the existing definition and calculation method, the actual utilisation rates may have been underestimated. The SWD will consider The Ombudsman's recommendation on reviewing the calculation method of casual vacancies of respite places to better reflect the actual demand.  
     
     If members of the public need to use respite services, they can call the 24-hour Designated Hotline for Carer Support 182 183, where social workers will immediately refer them to respite service units and assist with applications for transportation subsidies, etc to alleviate the pressure of carers.

     To enhance support for carers, the Chief Executive has announced in his 2025 Policy Address that the Government will earmark an annual recurrent expenditure of $500 million for launching a series of measures, including:
     
(1) expanding the Carer Support Data Platform by progressively connecting the data of more government departments and public organisations;

(2) upon learning from the Hospital Authority that a high-risk carer has been hospitalised, the SWD will arrange outreach to the care recipients and offer emergency support according to their needs;

(3) consolidating the data of the Hong Kong Housing Authority and the SWD to identify high-risk carers of elderly persons and carers of persons with disabilities, as well as singleton or doubleton elderly households lacking sufficient community support, and deploying District Services and Community Care Teams (Care Teams) to conduct visits;

(4) continuing the implementation of the District Services and Community Care Teams - Scheme on Supporting Elderly and Carers for three years by inviting Care Teams to actively provide support for and pay visits to high-risk families, and assisting households referred by Care Teams in installing and using the emergency alarm system as necessary;

(5) installing an intelligent accident detection system for 300 high-risk households; 

(6) continuing the implementation of the Support for Carers Project for three years, with a view to providing training for frontline property management personnel in assisting carers in need; and

(7) enhancing the AI chatbot function of the Information Gateway for Carers.

     The SWD will continue to take heed of the views of various stakeholders and motivate the sector to continuously enhance and promote respite services so that elderly persons, persons with disabilities and their carers in need will receive timely and suitable support.

Ends/Thursday, October 9, 2025
Issued at HKT 14:22

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