The Hong Kong government announced yesterday to relax the epidemic prevention measures, and the Hospital Authority also relaxed the visit requirements earlier, but the visit to the residential homes has not been relaxed.
Cai Haiwei, the chief executive of the HKCSS, hopes that as society returns to normal, the authorities will consider relaxing the visit arrangement. If the elderly and their family members have also received all three vaccinations, they can be arranged to go out to see their family members.
The director-general of Lok Sin Tong, Liu Ai Shi, also pointed out that at present, only about 10 to 12 people can be arranged to visit the home that takes care of more than 100 elderly people every day.
Some elderly people with cognitive impairment need more physical contact to feel the care of their families. If they lack family visits, they are more likely to experience depression.
It has been more than three years since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia. As the elderly in residential care homes are high-risk individuals, strict epidemic prevention measures have been taken to strengthen epidemic prevention.
Liu Aishi, director general of Lok Sin Tong, said that a negative nucleic acid test report within 48 hours is required to visit an institution. Taking the institution where Lok Sin Tong takes care of more than 100 elderly as an example, only 10 to 12 people can be arranged to visit each day. Each visit is limited to one person.
Although some elders can chat with their family members through video or telephone, elders with cognitive impairment need more physical contact to feel the care of their family members.
▼Under the fifth wave of the epidemic, many elderly homes have confirmed cases▼
+1
Cai Haiwei recommends that if the elderly and their family members play the three needles, they are allowed to go out for outdoor activities and go out to see their family members
Cai Haiwei added that due to the epidemic, the elderly in the residential home have not had many opportunities to see their family members for several years, and the physical and mental aspects are also affected.
He also mentioned that the Hospital Authority also relaxed the visit requirements earlier, hoping that as society returns to normal, the authorities may consider further relaxation of the epidemic prevention guidelines for residential homes. Go out to see family.
Cai Haiwei, chief executive of the HKCSS, believes that in addition to increasing wages and improving training, the government needs to consider importing foreign workers in the long run.
(file picture)
Residential homes are short of 10,000 workers in the long run, and foreign workers may need to be considered
In addition, due to the chronic shortage of manpower in the home, it is still necessary to maintain strict epidemic prevention measures, which will increase operational difficulties.
Cai Haiwei revealed that the current manpower vacancy rate in the home is 20%, with more than 10,000 employees vacant. In recent years, due to the epidemic, the turnover of employees has become more serious. He believes that in addition to increasing wages and improving training, the government needs to consider importing foreign workers in the long run. .
Cai emphasized that the industry agrees that local staff should be recruited first, but with the aging of Hong Kong's population, the number of elderly people will rise significantly to 30% of the overall population.
▼Environment of Kaide Makeshift Hospital▼
+1
Earlier it was rumored that the Hong Kong government intends to convert some of the isolation facilities into transitional housing.
Cai Haiwei believes that the isolation facilities with independent toilets can be converted into transitional houses if possible, and he also proposes to open up the two units to form a three- to four-person unit.
He also hoped that the government could do more transitional housing projects, grant longer land use periods and provide more funding to help non-profit-making organizations build more transitional housing and make better use of land resources.
From 9.30 onwards, prospective family members of 26 public hospitals will visit non-emergency low-risk patients once a day, and the hospital will be changed to transitional housing.
Li Jiachao: Pay attention to the usage situation and consider other uses based on the epidemic situation Policy Address 2022｜News: The makeshift hospital or part of the transitional housing can enjoy invincible sea views
