Luo Zhiguang: Expenses on elderly services increased by 89% to significantly shorten the waiting time for homes, it will take 5 more years

The population of Hong Kong is becoming aging, and the demand for elderly services is tight.

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong published a blog today (5th) stating that although elderly services account for the first place in the expenditure of the Social Welfare Department, the budgeted expenditure for this financial year has increased by 89% compared with the actual expenditure in 17-18. Among these services, the largest increase, but he emphasized that Hong Kong’s "elderly tsunami" has not yet arrived. In the face of the increasing demand every year, the increase in services is like a "boat sailing against the current."

He said that the current government's work on elderly service planning will only show its effectiveness in the latter part of the next government at the earliest, and the government has started in many ways to increase the employment of nursing staff.

Luo Zhiguang stated that following the completion of the Elderly Service Plan in mid-2017, the demand for elderly service facilities was rewritten in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines in December 2018 to help reserve appropriate The land that provides these services and facilities for the elderly, but it takes time from planning, funding, design, construction, and implementation of services. It is expected that it will take another five years, that is, the latter part of the next government, to be effective.

"Tsunami for the Elderly" has not yet reached the soaring demand to increase services such as "boat sailing against the current"

As for last year’s Policy Address, the government suggested that the Housing Authority and the Housing Association, together with the Development Bureau, should study for future housing projects to increase the plot ratio so as to provide about 5% of the total floor area for future housing projects. It is used for social welfare facilities, but Luo Zhiguang pointed out that the effectiveness of this measure will also take at least five years to show.

He emphasized that Hong Kong’s "elderly tsunami" has not yet arrived. In the face of the increasing demand every year, the increase in services is like a "boat sailing against the current."

▼Community Vaccination Center will first launch "Same Day Funding" for the elderly on July 29▼

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The proportion of elders living in residential institutions is 4.1%, although it is down but still very high

The living environment in Hong Kong is small. Luo Zhiguang described it as unfavorable for home and old age. In addition, many elderly people live in old buildings, which are not designed to reach accessible standards. At present, there are about 1.45 million residents aged 65 or above in Hong Kong. There are about 59,000 elderly persons in various types of residential care homes, accounting for about 4.1% of the population over 65 years old. Although it has been significantly reduced from the peak of 6.8%-6.9% a few years ago, it is still very high.

Since 2018, the government has included the construction of residential care homes for the elderly in terms of land sales in some suitable areas.

However, Luo Zhiguang said that the first relevant residential care homes for the elderly can be completed in the next government. Therefore, the short-term solution is to increase the number of places to buy. The government will purchase 1,000 Grade A places every year for the first five years from 2019. , Increase the supply of subsidized residential care places for the elderly.

The waiting time for subsidized residential places has been reduced by 5 months, and day care services have only dropped slightly by 1 month

Luo Zhiguang pointed out that with the simultaneous increase in demand and the total number of subsidized places, the waiting time has been reduced from 24 to 25 months before the current government to 19 to 20 months, and the current government has not chased the lagging behind. After the 20% increase in day care services, the waiting time has risen and fallen in the past four years, but it has only fallen slightly by one month so far.

On the contrary, the increase in home care services is obvious, and the waiting time has also been drastically reduced from 11 months to 5 months.

Elderly service manpower shortage remains severe

Although Luo Zhiguang pointed out that in the past, the phenomenon of "the shortage of the elderly and the longer the elderly" has been reversed, but the shortage of elderly services has been plagued for many years. The government has taken various measures to increase the employment of manpower. While the increase, the situation has not deteriorated, but the severe situation remains.

Nursing courses recruited more than 1,000 people in 5 years, less than 30% entered the industry, a heart-warming sentence became a 27-year-old new force and abandoned business to join the nursing industry. Highly-educated “newbie” became a management retention manpower. She had a set of nursing courses. The winner also resigned: I can’t see the future, if the epidemic recurs, the employees of the elderly homes have been injected, or it will take a few days to check the industry said it is difficult to arrange the elderly services. The community services will be updated in July. Half-way transfer team stopped at the elderly homes employees 200 yuan a month test allowance Luo Zhiguang: employees would rather take allowances for injections

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