LCQ3: Enrolment position of various types of residential care homes
16.11.2022

Following is a question by the Hon Lillian Kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (November 16): Question: Since the outbreak of the fifth wave of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic, more than 9 700 elderly persons aged 60 or above in Hong Kong died of infection, accounting for more than 95 per cent of the fatal cases of infection, whilst over 50 per cent of the fatal cases were from residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) and residential care homes for persons with disabilities (RCHDs). Regarding the enrolment position of various types of residential care homes (RCHs), will the Government inform this Council: (1) of the respective current enrolment rates of various types of private and public RCHs (i.e. RCHEs, RCHDs and other RCHs); (2) whether it has compiled statistics on the monthly average waiting time for subsidised residential care places since the outbreak of the fifth wave of the epidemic; whether it has reviewed if such average waiting time is shorter than that before the outbreak of the fifth wave of the epidemic; if it has reviewed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the details; if the review outcome is in the negative, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will provide assistance to RCHs which are under-enrolled or encounter financial difficulties; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that? Reply: President, (1) As at end-September 2022, the enrolment rates of residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) and residential care homes for persons with disabilities (RCHDs) by types of homes are as follows: Types of homes Enrolment rate RCHEs Subvented and contract homes 91% Private homes (Note 1) 71% Self-financing homes (Note 1 and 2) 68% RCHDs Subvented homes 97% Private homes (Note 1) 91% Self-financing homes (Note 2) 86% Note 1: Including homes participating in bought place schemes Note 2: Homes operated by non governmental organisations (2) The average waiting time for subsidised residential care places is subject to various factors, such as number of service places, number of persons on waiting lists, any specific request from the applicants on the allocation of homes (including location, religious background, whether the applicants accept subsidised places provided under the various bought place schemes or not, and even requests for specific homes), etc. The fifth wave of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID 19) epidemic has not made a significant impact on the average waiting time for subsidised residential care places for the elderly in general. Please refer to the table below for details: Month Average waiting time (months) Careâandâattention places Nursing home places December 2021 20 23 January 2022 19 23 February 2022 19 21 March 2022 18 21 April 2022 14 23 May 2022 16 23 June 2022 19 24 July 2022 21 23 August 2022 20 23 September 2022 19 23 October 2022 18 22 The Social Welfare Department (SWD) does not have statistics on the average waiting time for subsidised RCHDs by month and the average waiting time for RCHDs concerned before and after the fifth wave of the epidemic. The average waiting time for various residential rehabilitation services in the past two financial years is set out in the table below: Service type Average waiting time (months) 2020-21 2021-22 Halfway House 4.7 4.2 Long Stay Care Home 64.9 57.8 Hostel for Severely Mentally Handicapped Persons 156.1 150.8 Hostel for Severely Physically Handicapped Persons 77.8 80.9 Hostel for Moderately Mentally Handicapped Persons 127.6 144.8 Care and Attention Home for Severely Disabled Persons 64.3 65.6 Care and Attention Homes for the Aged Blind 13.8 10.7 Supported Hostel 71.8 63.5 Small Group Home for Mildly Mentally Handicapped Children (including Integrated Small Group Home) 13.1 15.1 (3) The enrolment rate of residential care homes (RCHs) has been high in general, with waiting required for some RCHs. The difference in enrolment rate between individual RCHs mainly reflects the choice of residents and their families. To safeguard the interests of the elderly and people with disabilities, apart from ensuring that the operation and management of all RCHs meet the statutory requirements, the SWD also provides support to RCHs in times of need. For example, during COVID-19 epidemic, the SWD has provided to all RCHs free protective equipment; special allowance to cope with tight manpower situation, procurement of sanitation items, etc.; arranged ventilation assessments by professionals who put forward improvement recommendations; and collaborated with the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust which support RCHs in need to acquire equipment such as air purifiers and mobile negative pressure cabins. The supporting measures provided to RCHs aim at ensuring appropriate care for the residents, while at the same time alleviate the pressure of RCH operators so that together, we will fight the virus.