LCQ20: Statistical information on residential care homes for the elderly
Following is a question by the Dr Hon Fernando Cheung and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Caspar Tsui, in the Legislative Council today (July 4):
Question:
Some members of the public have pointed out that when formulating service quality standards (e.g. the area of floor space per resident and manpower ratios) for places for the elderly, the Government often give a lot of weight to the views of the operators of non-subsidised residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs). As the operators have claimed that the implementation of the reform proposals put forward by community groups will lead to waves of closures of RCHEs, the Government has brushed aside such proposals. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the following information on the provision of places for the elderly (to set out in tables):
(1) the following information on non-subsidised places for the elderly in each of the past 10 financial years: (i) number of homes (and among which the number of those participated in the Enhanced Bought Place Scheme (EBPS), (ii) number of places (and among which the number of those provided by homes participated in EBPS), (iii) number of residents (and among which the number of recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance), (iv) vacancy rate of places, and (v) the area of floor space per resident;
(2) the respective numbers of non-subsidised RCHEs opened and closed down in each of the past 10 financial years, and the number of places involved (and among which the number of those provided by homes participated in EBPS);
(3) the following information on subsidised places in each of the past 10 financial years: (i) the number of persons waiting, (ii) average waiting time, (iii) the number of elderly persons who passed away while waiting for those places and (iv) the number of applications withdrawn;
(4) the respective numbers of elderly persons in each of the past 10 financial years who expressed willingness and unwillingness to choose EA1 and EA2 places under EBPS when being assessed under the Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services, and their reasons; and
(5) the following information respectively on (i) the scheme to encourage developers to provide RCHE premises in new private developments, (ii) the Pilot Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong and (iii) the Special Scheme on Privately Owned Sites for Welfare Uses, in each financial year since their implementation: number of places provided, vacancy rate and average waiting time of these places, as well as the area of floor space per resident and manpower ratios of the homes concerned?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the Member's question is as follows:
(1) Information on the number of homes providing non-subsidised residential care services for the elderly and the number of non-subsidised places from 2008-09 to 2017-18 is at Annex 1.
The number of recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) who are aged 60 or above and reside at non-subsidised homes from 2008-09 to 2017-18 is as follows:
| Year | Number of CSSA recipients aged 60 or above residing at non-subsidised homes (Note) |
| 2008-09 | 24 330 |
| 2009-10 | 24 920 |
| 2010-11 | 25 179 |
| 2011-12 | 24 902 |
| 2012-13 | 24 688 |
| 2013-14 | 25 705 |
| 2014-15 | 25 004 |
| 2015-16 | 24 340 |
| 2016-17 | 24 434 |
| 2017-18 | 24 607 |
Note: These are the numbers of recipients as at end-March in the year concerned. The Social Welfare Department (SWD) does not have figures on the number of CSSA recipients residing at different types of non-subsidised homes. The above figures include the number of recipients residing at non-subsidised residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) and residents residing at non-subsidised residential care homes for persons with disabilities.
SWD has not systematically compiled information on the number of residents receiving non-subsidised residential care services for the elderly, vacancy rate of places and the area of floor space per resident. As at end-March 2018, the average occupancy rate of private RCHEs participating in the Enhanced Bought Place Scheme (EBPS) and those not participating in that scheme was 91 per cent and 83 per cent respectively. At present, different types of RCHEs are providing non-subsidised places, including subvented, contract, self-financing and private RCHEs. The area of floor space per resident of these RCHEs generally ranges from a minimum of 6.5 square metres to a maximum of 24.8 square metres.
(2) Regarding RCHEs providing non-subsidised places, information on the number of homes opened and closed down from 2008-09 to 2017-18 and the number of places involved is at Annex 2.
(3) The average waiting time for various types of subsidised residential care places for the elderly from 2008-09 to 2017-18 is at Annex 3.
The number of persons waiting for subsidised residential care places for the elderly and the number of persons who passed away or withdrew applications while waiting for these places from 2008-09 to 2017-18 is as follows:
| Year | Number of persons waiting for subsidised residential care places for the elderly | Number of persons who passed away while waiting for service | Number of persons who withdrew applications while waiting for service |
| 2008-09 | 24 168 | 4 372 | 2 256 |
| 2009-10 | 25 815 | 4 573 | 2 419 |
| 2010-11 | 26 751 | 4 844 | 2 540 |
| 2011-12 | 27 888 | 4 797 | 2 473 |
| 2012-13 | 28 818 | 5 146 | 2 778 |
| 2013-14 | 29 435 | 5 262 | 2 182 |
| 2014-15 | 31 349 | 5 675 | 2 199 |
| 2015-16 | 33 368 | 5 774 | 2 243 |
| 2016-17 | 35 931 | 6 027 | 2 172 |
| 2017-18 | 37 911 | 6 611 | 2 191 |
　
(4) The number of persons who were waiting for subsidised care-and-attention (C&A) places and, amongst them, the number of persons who expressed willingness to accept subsidised places under EBPS from 2008-09 to 2017-18 is as follows:
| Year |
Number of persons waiting for subsidised C&A places (1) |
Amongst (1), number of persons who expressed willingness to accept subsidised places under EBPS (2) |
| 2008-09 | 17 948 | 1 264 |
| 2009-10 | 19 556 | 1 313 |
| 2010-11 | 20 342 | 1 119 |
| 2011-12 | 21 432 | 1 205 |
| 2012-13 | 22 546 | 1 313 |
| 2013-14 | 23 216 | 1 196 |
| 2014-15 | 25 304 | 1 490 |
| 2015-16 | 27 365 | 1 611 |
| 2016-17 | 29 672 | 1 745 |
| 2017-18 | 31 358 | 1 753 |
SWD does not have information on elderly persons' reasons for expressing willingness to accept subsidised places under EBPS, or the number of persons who expressed unwillingness to accept such places and their reasons.
(5) The Government launched the Scheme to Encourage Provision of Residential Care Home for the Elderly Premises in New Private Developments in July 2003. Under the scheme, eligible RCHE premises proposed will be exempted from payment of premium under different types of land transactions including lease modifications, land exchange and private treaty grants, on the condition that the developers are willing to accept incorporation of certain lease conditions. Since the launch of the scheme, the Lands Department (LandsD) has approved one application. The developer concerned signed a land exchange agreement with LandsD in December 2012 for the development of a 290-place RCHE. The developer is carrying out construction and fitting works of the RCHE.
SWD has since June 2014 implemented the Pilot Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong (the pilot scheme), whereby the Government purchases places from two RCHEs respectively located in Yantian, Shenzhen and Zhaoqing and operated by Hong Kong non-governmental organisations (NGOs), to enable elderly persons waiting for subsidised C&A places in Hong Kong to choose to reside therein. While the pilot scheme can provide 400 places, the actual number of places to be purchased each year depends on the number of participants under the pilot scheme. As at end-March 2018, a total of 180 elderly persons participated in the pilot scheme. On the premise of ensuring the service quality as well as meeting the requirements and performance standards as stipulated in the service agreements signed with SWD, the two RCHEs participating in the pilot scheme have the flexibility to arrange suitable staffing. While SWD does not have information on the staffing ratio and area of floor space per resident of the two RCHEs, the two RCHEs have acquired accreditation under the Residential Aged Care Accreditation Scheme managed by the Hong Kong Association of Gerontology, and the accreditation scheme has been accredited by the Hong Kong Accreditation Service.
The Government launched the Special Scheme on Privately Owned Sites for Welfare Uses in September 2013 to encourage NGOs to better utilise their own sites and provide or increase, through expansion, redevelopment or new development, those welfare facilities considered by the Government as being in acute demand, in particular to increase elderly and rehabilitation service places. As at end-May 2018, a project involving residential care services for the elderly was completed and commenced services in 2017-18. The project offers 120 C&A places providing continuum of care (including subsidised and non-subsidised places). On the premise of ensuring the service quality as well as meeting the service output requirements and performance standards as stipulated in the Funding and Service Agreements, the NGO concerned has the flexibility to deploy the subventions and arrange suitable staffing in operating the RCHE.