Dementia patients, carers of severely disabled may be flagged for priority outreach

Hong Kong will consider expanding priority community care to include dementia patients and residents aged over 60 who care for people with severe disabilities in a bid to better identify high-risk cases, the city’s welfare chief has said. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said on Sunday that authorities were reviewing the screening criteria used to identify high-risk elderly individuals. The move follows a tragedy in which a 70-year-old man was found hanging in his Kwai Chung flat, while his 78-year-old wife was discovered unconscious in another room. She was later pronounced dead in hospital, and the man remained in critical condition as of Saturday night. Sun said the couple had not been identified for targeted visits or follow-up support by social workers under an initiative launched last year, as Housing Authority records showed both were under 80. He described caregiving for a spouse with dementia as “one of the most challenging” scenarios. “I believe dementia must definitely be prioritised in our approach,” he said in a televised interview. “We need to consult medical experts to determine which types of care create exceptionally high-stress environments so we can include them early.” Sun added that authorities were also considering extending coverage to people between the ages of 61 and 79 who cared for residents with severe disabilities. “They are considered the ‘young elderly’ but if their spouse suffers from a severe physical condition that requires long-term care, the risk naturally escalates,” he said. Asked whether the scope could be expanded this year, Sun said the government would act “as soon as possible”. The initiative uses an interdepartmental database to identify vulnerable older residents and “high-risk” households. It currently covers only those aged 80 or above who live alone or with a spouse. Sun said the platform’s goal was to “stay ahead of the problem”, but he noted that the recent case involved elderly individuals who fell below the eligibility threshold. “Data can help us uncover these cases, and as we continue to accumulate experience,” he said. “We will definitely be able to create many different combinations.” “This is an ongoing process of continuous trial and error, with the ultimate goal of broadening the safety net as much as possible.” Last month, a 77-year-old man was found hanging in a flat at Po Tat Estate, a public housing complex in Sau Mau Ping. His 71-year-old ex-wife was also found dead at the scene. Police said the man was suspected of having killed the woman before taking his life. He was believed to have felt “hopeless” following their separation after years of marital conflict, compounded by their son’s suicide. The minister also again defended changes to how authorities measured the city’s neediest after announcing on Thursday that it would no longer define poverty solely in economic terms. Instead, it will adopt a new 21-indicator framework to better target support for those in need. Officials said the previous measure had overestimated the number of underprivileged people by failing to account for billions of Hong Kong dollars in public spending on housing and healthcare. Addressing criticism that the changes made it harder to assess the city’s overall poverty situation objectively, Sun said that relying solely on relative income measures had clear limitations, including ignoring assets and non-cash government subsidies. “This includes distortions. Even if you come up with a statistic, you can’t tell who is poor, why they are poor or in what aspects they are poor,” he said, adding that 57 per cent of elderly-only households owned their property outright. Sun also rejected claims the government had abandoned using the poverty line to avoid putting a figure on the number of people who fell below it. He said authorities were addressing the challenge through targeted poverty alleviation measures, adding that a second report on such efforts would be published within three years. “Only when you examine the specific group do you know what they actually need,” he said, citing examples such as after-school care, community living rooms and opportunities for upward mobility for children living in subdivided flats. “If you purely use a single figure or income level for calculation, it becomes very vague.” If you have suicidal thoughts or know someone who is experiencing them, help is available. In Hong Kong, you can dial 18111 for the government-run Mental Health Support Hotline. You can also call +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services. In the US, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. For a list of other nations’ helplines, see this page.

Dementia patients, carers of severely disabled may be flagged for priority outreach

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hong Kong’s welfare chief says authorities reviewing screening criteria that database uses to mark high-risk elderly for priority community care

Hong Kong’s welfare chief says authorities reviewing screening criteria that database uses to mark high-risk elderly for priority community care