Policy Address

Community and Home Care Services

70.       The Government will significantly increase subsidised community care places for the elderly next year.  We also expect to launch the pilot scheme on home care services early next year to provide “tailor-made” services for elderly people on the waiting list for nursing home places.  Furthermore, the pilot Integrated Discharge Support Programme for Elderly Patients has been well received.  Through collaboration between the welfare and healthcare sectors, the programme has been effective in helping elderly patients discharged from the hospital to recover at home.  We plan to make it a regular service and extend its coverage from the current three districts to all districts in two years' time.  We will also consider offering more tax concessions as incentives for the working population to live with their elderly parents.  This is in line with our policy objective of encouraging elderly people to age at home.

Residential Care Service

71.       For frail elderly people in need of residential care, we will provide additional places by building new residential care homes and making full use of the space in existing homes.  We will also increase the supply of higher-quality places under the Enhanced Bought Place Scheme.

72.       The public is increasingly concerned about the proper care of elderly people suffering from dementia. We will provide or increase relevant supplements for subsidised residential care homes and day care centres for the elderly to render more targeted services to such patients.

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