01 view
Written by: Commentary Editing Room
2020-10-24 08:00
Last update date: 2020-10-24 08:00
Reversing the status quo of focusing on residential houses and neglecting communities, and promoting home-based elderly care has always been the key direction of the government's elderly policy.
To this end, the government has implemented community care service vouchers and increased the number of service places for "improving home and community care services." Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor twice mentioned in the policy address that "home and community care are the focus, while residential homes are used as auxiliary" Policy direction.
However, the dike of a thousand miles may collapse in an ant nest. The small details ignored by the government may also become the last mile that prevents policy measures from reaching the end of home care.
At present, more than 10,000 tenement buildings in Hong Kong do not have elevators, which not only affects the general public, but for the frail elderly, it is enough to hinder them from going out for follow-up consultations and normal social interaction.
In 2018, the Hong Kong Council of Social Service received support from the Keswick Fund and the Lee Hysan Fund to jointly implement the "Long De Lou" pilot project in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, Yuen Long, and Tuen Mun, and provide dedicated stair machine services to assist services Users walked out of the community and helped more than 500 frail people.
This data is big or small, but it is often the last mile to influence the quality of home care.
The Hong Kong Council of Social Services launched the "Lok Tak Building" stair machine service pilot project to provide stair machine pick-up services for elderly people living in old buildings or buildings without elevators and people with reduced mobility to assist in going up and down stairs, going to the doctor, receiving rehabilitation services, Buy daily necessities, participate in social activities, go out to drink tea, worship mountains and participate in wedding banquets, etc., but the plan will end on October 31.
(Information Picture/Photo by Li Jiawei)
Government should not rely solely on private funds
If the elderly and the infirm cannot overcome the environmental barriers, how can we follow up the consultation and participate in the activities of the elderly center, let alone the dignified and quality home care?
For this reason, in January 2019, the Macau government funded Caritas through the Macau Foundation to implement the "Up and Down Travel Service", so that the relevant services will be stable and smoothly integrated with the overall home care policy.
However, Hong Kong's "Luo De Lou" service only relies on the support of charitable organizations, so that after the end of October this year, due to lack of funds, the service was unsustainable.
The Hong Kong government is not unintentional or incapable of service.
So far, 69 homes for the elderly, elderly centers and hospitals have installed and purchased stair machines through the government's "Elderly and Rehabilitation Application Fund" to allow the infirm and elderly to travel in these places without barriers.
It is a pity that the coverage of the fund plan is limited, and the elderly living in tenements cannot be considered.
However, the government's negligence often leaves these people only a few steps away from good community care.
It can be seen that a complete community care system and environment need to have a big vision of blueprint planning, but also need to maintain a delicate and considerate, observing the needs of the grassroots, and prevent any groups in need from being forgotten after the city’s feasting.
The policy address will be announced shortly, and since Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor postponed the announcement, he should come up with a more comprehensive and detailed plan.
Don't let the government, under the policy slogan of developing community care and promoting home care for the elderly, reoccur jokes and embarrassments that frail elderly people can hardly even go downstairs.
Although the government must be far-sighted, it must be careful not to let the elderly policy plan be ruined on this last mile.
Multi-pronged approach is needed to alleviate elderly problems
Residents suffer from gauze plugging, lack of people, money, and supervision
More than half of Hong Kong people are not sure that hospice homes and community roles are insufficient
01 depth
Barrier-free facilities elderly 01 view
