Long-Term Care Options

1. District Elderly Community Centres and Neighbourhood Elderly Centres provide the following services:

   • Health education
   • Educational and development activities
   • Reaching out and networking
   • Volunteer development
   • Counselling services
   • Educational and supportive programmes on dementia
   • Carer support services
   • Provision of information on community resources and referral services
   • Social and recreational activities
   • Meal services
   • Drop-in service

2. A number of District Elderly Community Centres also provide the following services:

   • Community education

3. A number of Social Centre for the Elderly also provide the following services:

   • Organised (indoor and outdoor) groups or activities that meet the recreational, social, or educational / developmental needs of elderly people
   • Information giving regarding welfare services for the elderly and referral to appropriate services or organisations where necessary
   • Encouraging members to organise mutual help activities and participate in community affairs
   • Leisure facilities which provide opportunity for the elderly to engage in unstructured activities such as reading, watching television, playing chess etc.
   • A drop-in area providing a place for social contact

4. Support Teams for the Elderly provide the following services:

   • To identify vulnerable elderly persons through various outreaching and networking approaches
   • To show concern to elderly persons through regular home visits and telephone contacts
   • To introduce community resources
   • To provide simple personal assistance
   • To provide emotional support
   • To refer elderly persons for formal services such as counselling service
   • To recruit, train and sustain volunteers

5. Suitable for aged 60 or above, people with dementia and aged 60 or above and caregivers aged 60 or above.

   • Caregivers can arrange for the person to join the activities in which he or she is interested in order to maintain his or her social life, or even accompany them to participate.
   • Caregiver services can help caregivers to improve caregiving skills and reduce stress.
   • You can contact service providers if you have any inquiries.

1. Team of Enhanced Home and Community Care Services (EHCCS) / Integrated Home Care Services (Frail Cases) [IHCS (Frail Cases)] provide the following services:

   • Care management and assessment
   • Personal care
   • Basic and special nursing care
   • Rehabilitation exercises
   • Environmental risk assessment and home modifications suggestions
   • Speech therapy
   • Meal service
   • Home respite service
   • Household cleaning service
   • Escort service
   • Counselling service
   • Carer support and training
   • 24-hour emergency support
   • Arranging respite service

   The scope and frequency of services will be designed by the IHCS / EHCCS Teams according to the needs of individual frail elderly persons

2. Suitable for aged 60 or above, people with early- or moderate-stage dementia could also be considered

   • The service can help to maintain the person's basic personal hygiene and household hygiene. It can also help the person to maintain or even improve physical strength and mobility. This service helps the person to attend medical follow-ups as well.
   • The application will be approved or arranged by the relevant organization(s).

1. Day Care Centres and Units for the Elderly provide the following services:

   • Personal care
   • Nursing care
   • Rehabilitation exercises
   • Meal service
   • Health education
   • Social and recreational activities
   • Carer support services
   • Counselling and referral services

2. Suitable for aged 60 or above or people with dementia and aged 60 or above.

   The service can help to maintain the person's basic personal hygiene. It also helps the person to maintain or even improve physical strength and mobility. This service helps the person to attend medical follow-ups as well.

The Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services (SCNAMES) and the Central Waiting List for Subsidised Long Term Care Services (CWL) implemented by the Social Welfare Department provide assessment and registration for subsidised long term care (LTC) services at single entry points so as to facilitate elderly persons in making applications, waiting listing and allocation of such services.

1. Elderly persons waitlisting for Residential Community Services (RCS) may request their responsible/referring workers to change the status of their RCS application to “inactive” on their own accord before offered with admission to RCS. If their health conditions subsequently deteriorate or there are other circumstances, they may at any time request to change their application status back to “active” without the need to queue for the services all over again.The Minimum Data Set-Home Care version (MDS-HC) assessment result is valid for one year. The Social Welfare Department will assess the person again if the result expires before the person starts using a service. Eligibility to use the service will depend on the most recent assessment result.
2. If elderly persons are first assessed by interRAI-HC 9.3 to match with Community Care Services (CCS) and are put on the waiting list, and their health conditions subsequently deteriorate, they can request for a re-assessment. If the concerned elderly persons are re-assessed subsequently to match with RCS and are put on the waiting list, their original application date for CCS will be used to waitlist for subsidised RCS, irrespective of whether they are waitlisting, receiving or have ceased receiving subsidised CCS. The above arrangement is no longer valid when they are offered with admission to RCS, irrespective of whether they accept the offer
3. The assessment results are valid for 12 months. Under normal circumstances, re-assessment will not be conducted within this period. If applicants need to receive another LTC service type due to significant changes in their health conditions or circumstances after the assessment, the responsible/referring worker may arrange re-assessment to ascertain the applicants’ LTC needs or adjust the service(s) to be waitlisted for the applicants as appropriate. Applicants should have valid assessment results to confirm that the services offered are suitable for them before their admission to services; otherwise, they are required to receive re-assessment
4. For applicants or service providers who disagree with the assessment results and services matched, there are pre-appeal mediation and appeal channels under the SCNAMES. Clarification and resolution of disagreed areas will be carried out at the initial stage and re-assessment will be arranged as necessary

1. Day Respite Service for the Elderly

   • Caregivers can find temporary relief by having the person stay at a Day Care Centre or Unit for the Elderly.
   • Available for people aged 60 or above.
   • Fee: $41.5 per day.
   • Please contact nearby social service providers for referral to the service.

2. Emergency Placement

   • The person can temporarily stay at a subvented residential care facility in case of a lack of immediate care or accommodation. The person can stay until family members are located and a discharge care plan is arranged.
   • Available for people aged 60 or above.
   • The maximum period of stay is three months.
   • Fees: Free for the first three months; standard monthly fees for services used will be charged from the fourth month on.
   • Please contact nearby social service providers for referral to the service.

3. Residential Respite for the Elderly

   • Caregivers can find temporary relief by having the person stay at a subvented residential care facility.
   • Available for people aged 60 or above.
   • There are care-and-attention designated places for this service. Casual vacancy places may be available in all subvented residential care homes for the elderly, nursing homes and contract homes.
   • Elderly persons are considered eligible for residential respite service if they are:
   1. aged 60 or above
   2. in need of short-term residential care so that family members or relatives as their main caregivers may take a break from providing the care on a long-term basis;
   3. physically and mentally fit for communal living;
   4. requiring a level of personal and nursing care corresponding to the admission criteria of the particular type of residential service; and
   5. to be taken back into care by the family upon expiry of the respite period
   • Residential Respite Service, not a Long-term Care Service, renders to each elderly person on each occasion shall neither be less than 24 hours, nor more than 6 weeks which is also the maximum accumulative duration of repeated use of the service in a continuous period within the 12 months preceding the date of admission for Respite Service. For case applying for repeated use of the service, the referring social worker should check if the duration of stay in the past 12 months has exceeded the maximum accumulative duration of using the service (42 days).
   • Family members are required to sign an undertaking to take the person home at the end of the respite period.
   • Fee: $52 - $72 per day.
   • Please contact nearby social service providers for referral to the service.
   • You may check the vacancy of Designated Residential Respite Places in subvented residential care homes for the elderly, contract homes and private homes participating in Enhanced Bought Place Scheme “Vacancy Enquiry System for Respite Services / Emergency Placement

1. Home helpers

   Available at Employees Retraining Board, a number of social service agencies, and a number of maid agencies. Please request more information from nearby social service providers or search the Web for service providers.

2. Private nurses

   Available at a number of private companies and private maid agencies. Please request more information from nearby social service providers or search the Web for service providers.

3. Private outreach physiotherapists

   Available at a number of social service agencies and private companies. Please request more information from nearby social service providers social service providers

4. Private day respite services

   Available at a number of social service agencies and private residential care homes. Please request more information from nearby social service providers or search the Web for service providers.

5. Private residential care homes

   A number of social service agencies can provide advice on choosing private residential care homes. Please request more information from nearby social service providers or search the Web for service providers.

6. Private residential care respite services

   Available at a number of social service agencies and private residential care homes. Please request more information from nearby social service providers or search the Web for service providers.

7. Hotline services

   • Available at a number of social service agencies. Please request more information from nearby social service providers or search the Web for service providers.
   • Contact the Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing's Xpress Memory Hotline on 2333 2393.

8. Private transportation services

   The Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation provides Rehabus, Easy-Access Transport Services, and Accessible Hire Car for comfortable transportation for people with disabilities. Diamond Cab offers point-to-point transportation for people with disabilities.