Respect, love and care for the elderly

Elderly care is one of the main policy initiatives of the current-term Government. With the Mid-Autumn Festival around the corner, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare and I went to the Po Leung Kuk Sai Ying Pun Home for the Elderly cum Day Care Centre for the Elderly today to visit the seniors there and to learn more about the centre's operation.

To raise service standards, encourage innovation and achieve maximum cost-effectiveness, the Government introduced competitive bidding in 2001 in selecting operators for residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs). Operating as a contract RCHE under this model, the elderly home that we visited today provides both subsidised and non-subsidised residential care places and day care services. What is most special about it is that it is located inside a private housing estate jointly built by the Urban Renewal Authority and a developer. Since opening in 2013 it has been welcomed by the residents of the estate and the neighbourhood. This mode of operation, which can provide space for RCHEs more effectively, should be promoted.

While it is important to find space for RCHE, thoughtfulness is needed to provide the elderly with appropriate services and care. The RCHE that we visited today provides a tranquil, clean and tidy environment for its residents and pays close attention to their daily needs. It has also taken the extra step to satisfy the psychological and spiritual needs of the elderly there by, for example, displaying objects from the old days and providing a prayer room. No wonder the residents there were full of praise for its services when I chatted with them.

Hong Kong's ageing population is a problem that the whole society must face upfront. Only with respect, love and care can we support our elderly people in their golden years, ensuring that the elderly are honoured for their special place in the family, loved in the way they have loved us and respected for their life-long contributions, as pledged in my Manifesto.

My wife and I enjoy an early celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival along with some "old friends", healthy mooncakes made by a social enterprise bakery and seasonal fruit.
My wife and I make a lantern with Auntie Yau, a playful and energetic senior.  She asked me to guess her age, and I was surprised to learn that she is already 89 years old.		Besides providing a clean and tidy environment and paying close attention to the needs of its residents, the elderly home is thoughtfully decorated with vintage objects to remind residents of the "good old days".
A resident does rehabilitation exercises under the guidance of a physiotherapist.  Residents of the elderly home are full of praise for its services.

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September 24, 2015