Community Care Fund extends Pilot Scheme on Support for Elderly Persons Discharged from Public Hospitals after Treatment

The following is issued on behalf of the Community Care Fund Secretariat:
      
     The Community Care Fund (CCF) today (January 26) announced the extension of the Pilot Scheme on Support for Elderly Persons Discharged from Public Hospitals after Treatment upon its completion in end-January 2021 for 32 months up to September 30, 2023, with a new mode of operation to be implemented from October 2021. The Pilot Scheme as extended continues to be administered by the Social Welfare Department (SWD).
      
     The Pilot Scheme was launched in February 2018 through a "medical-social collaboration" model in 10 hospitals under three clusters (Kowloon East, New Territories East and New Territories West) of the Hospital Authority (HA). The HA conducts assessments and refers persons aged 60 or above who are in need of transitional care and support services (i.e. in need of temporary residential care and/or community care and support services after discharge from hospitals) but are not covered under the existing Integrated Discharge Support Programme for Elderly Patients to the Pilot Scheme.

     Under the new mode of operation starting in October 2021, the SWD will select three non-governmental organisations through invitation for proposals under which each of them will set up a Transitional Care Team to provide services to needy elderly persons referred by respective HA clusters (Kowloon East, New Territories East and New Territories West). Medical staff of the relevant hospitals will make assessment and formulate discharge plans for elderly patients in need so as to facilitate planning for appropriate nursing care, rehabilitation and care support services. Needy elderly persons will subsequently be referred to the Transitional Care Teams, who will provide transitional residential care and/or community care and support services. It is expected to serve about 1 000 elderly persons each year and benefit a total of about 2 000 elderly persons in two years in the new mode of operation under the Pilot Scheme.
       
     Details of the Pilot Scheme as extended can be found on the CCF's website (www.communitycarefund.hk) or the SWD's website (www.swd.gov.hk). For enquiries, members of the public may also call the CCF Team of the SWD on 3422 3090 during office hours.