About 60 vulnerable Hong Kong children remain in hospital as they lack a safe home to return to
Child welfare groups call on government to increase number of places in shelters for vulnerable children and provide better support for troubled families
Around 60 children, who were considered fit to be discharged, have been stranded in public hospitals – with one staying for as long as six months – as they do not have a safe home to go back to.
Child welfare concern groups warned that this could affect their emotional and physical health and education, and called on the government to increase the “catastrophically insufficient” number of places in shelters for vulnerable children and provide better support for their troubled families to facilitate reunion.
The thorny issue will be discussed in the Legislative Council on Thursday.
The Social Welfare Department provides residential services, such as children’s homes, residential child care centres and foster care, for those under the age of 21 who cannot be adequately cared for by their families because of issues such as domestic violence, having parents with drug problems and crises arising from illness and death. There were around 3,700 places available in June, according to official figures.
But concern groups said these facilities were always full, resulting in some youngsters being stranded in hospitals even though they were fit to be discharged.
