As mentioned in the Mental Health Review Report (MHRR), coordinated medical and social care services for both persons with dementia and family carers are essential elements for promoting the goal of age in place. The report proposes a recommendation on enhancing support for family carers to allow them to engage in other living activities and continue in their role effectively.

• “Recommendation 10 – Support for carers should be enhanced. This includes providing them with structured and accessible information, skills to assist in caring, respite to enable engagement in other activities so that they can continue in their role effectively” (Food and Health Bureau, 2017a, p. 189).

The Elderly Services Programme Plan (ESPP) proposes four recommendations which promote a greater flexibility, variety, and choices of supportive services, such as the expansion of services to cover odd hours and holidays, in order to meet specific caring needs among older people and their family carers.

• “Recommendation 5a – Designated respite places and casual vacancies should be fully utilised to strengthen the support to carers. Improvement should be made to facilitate timely access to services” (Working Group on Elderly Services Programme Plan, 2017, p. 25).
• “Recommendation 5b – Transitional care support to elderly persons discharged from hospitals should be enhanced to assist them to stay in the community and prevent premature institutionalisation” (Working Group on Elderly Services Programme Plan, 2017, p. 25).
• “Recommendation 5c – Emergency placement services should continue to target on elderly persons with urgent care needs and under unforeseen or crisis situation, such as those with immediate care needs due to social reasons” (Working Group on Elderly Services Programme Plan, 2017, p. 26).
• “Recommendation 5e – Day respite that integrates formal and informal system of care at neighbourhood level should be strengthened” (Working Group on Elderly Services Programme Plan, 2017, p. 26).

References:

Food and Health Bureau. (2017a). Mental Health Review Report.  Retrieved from https://www.fhb.gov.hk/download/press_and_publications/otherinfo/180500_mhr/e_mhr_full_report.pdf.

Working Group on Elderly Services Programme Plan, Elderly Commission of Government of Hong Kong SAR,. (2017). Elderly Services Programme Plan. Hong Kong: Elderly Commission of Government HKSAR Retrieved from https://www.elderlycommission.gov.hk/en/download/library/ESPP_Final_Report_Eng.pdf.