|
Elderly Services
121. Recurrent expenditure on elderly services has increased more than 40 per cent from $3.8 billion to $5.4 billion over the past five years. From 2014-15, we shall increase annual expenditure in this area with an additional funding of more than $660 million to implement and enhance the following four areas of elderly services and facilities. This covers –
| (a) |
some $170 million for providing 1 500 additional places for the Enhanced Home and Community Care Services, and widening the scope of home care services for these additional places and the existing 5 600 places to strengthen our support for frail elderly persons living at home; |
| (b) |
some $160 million for upgrading 51 social centres for the elderly to neighbourhood elderly centres, and enabling all subvented elderly centres to increase their manpower as well as programme expenses. The purposes are to enhance the support for elderly people as well as processing care needs assessment and service applications for long-term care services; |
| (c) |
some $200 million for raising the subsidies for places under the Enhanced Bought Place Scheme (EBPS) and the Nursing Home Place Purchase Scheme, upgrading subvented nursing home places to provide continuum of care, and enhancing the service of the three new contract homes. These aim to enhance care and support for the elderly; and |
| (d) |
$120 million for providing some 950 new subsidised residential care places for the elderly through the commencement of new contract homes, the purchase of additional places under EBPS, and as a pilot, the purchase of residential care places from elderly homes run by Hong Kong non-governmental organisations in the Mainland. |
122. We have tasked the Elderly Commission to prepare an Elderly Services Programme Plan within two years. The Commission will also explore the feasibility of introducing residential care service vouchers for the elderly. About $800 million has been earmarked to issue a total of 3 000 residential care services vouchers in phases within three years from 2015-16. Government will inject $10 billion into the Lotteries Fund to implement the Special Scheme on Privately Owned Sites for Welfare Uses to provide additional places for elderly and rehabilitation services.
|
|