The wife, who is suffering from depression and currently in a stable condition, has been charged with murder and is due to appear in court on Saturday.

“The stress and problems faced by carers have nothing to do with their socioeconomic status and may not even be related to their education level,” Tik told a radio programme, calling the recent case a “typical scenario” in which the carer and recipient were elderly.

“Such carers must provide care 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Nobody can bear it.”

Tik added that the current support services were insufficient as they only covered basic measures and lacked a carer-centric mindset.

“The carer support services are fragmented,” he said. “The middle class may not know about such services, and such help may not meet their habits or needs.”

Elderly Hongkonger dies, wife hurt in suspected murder-suicide attempt

The Social Welfare Department earlier said the family’s case was not followed up by social workers.

Tik said the Hospital Authority should help social workers identify “high-risk carers” when patients had follow-up appointments at public hospitals, urging authorities to provide them with emotional counselling through community centres.

Crystal Yuen Shuk-yan of the Society for Community Organisation described the current emotional support for carers as inadequate.

“Although the 24-hour carer support hotline can provide immediate emotional relief, it cannot carry out in-depth and long-term follow-up work,” she told the same radio show.

Yuen also said that even though some older carers might have two to three long-term diseases, they still had to care for elderly family members who suffered from five or six illnesses.

“If the family member has limited mobility and needs help moving around, the pressure on the carer will be even greater,” said Yuen, who is also a former member of the government-appointed advisory committee on mental health.

“Over time, the caregiver’s physical condition will also worsen and they may become increasingly worried about taking care of their family.”

Yuen urged the government to train community care teams before they looked for high-risk carers.

Team members in Tsuen Wan and Southern districts have been tasked by the government with reaching out to needy households under a pilot scheme launched earlier this week. Community care teams were established across 18 districts last year to help promote government initiatives and support residents.

“Even having a chat requires a goal and a direction. [The teams] must know how to use different angles and tools to understand their emotions,” Yuen said. “Chats alone may not be effective.”

Hong Kong woman, 71, charged with murder after husband, 84, found dead in bed

She also added that authorities should develop systematic record-keeping, long-term follow-ups and referrals in the long run.

Lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon said Hong Kong had not given enough attention to patients with dementia and their carers despite a rapid rise in the number of such patients.

In 2020, about 79,400 people with dementia were receiving treatment, according to statistics from the Hospital Authority.

The Hong Kong Alzheimer’s Disease Association earlier estimated that 333,000 people aged 60 and above would develop dementia by 2039, accounting for 11 per cent of the age group.

The Health Bureau said it was providing services to 2,000 senior residents diagnosed with mild and moderate cognitive impairment.

Hongkonger, 80, dies in alleged murder-suicide attempt in MTR toilet, wife survives

But Kong said they were “not at all enough” to help solve the problem, adding the government lacked targeted policies to help those with dementia.

“The training of most carers is insufficient and they have no idea what to do in the face of the early stages of the disease,” she said.

She suggested that authorities consider a public-private partnership to enable family doctors to provide treatment for early-stage patients, organise training for carers and set up support teams in the community.

“Carers are working so hard. All they need are respite services, emotional support and help from professional social workers,” Kong said.