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Highlights of the Year 2020-21

Legislative Amendment to Ordinances for Residential Care Homes

  • In order to further enhance the monitoring of residential care homes (RCHs), SWD set up the Working Group on the Review of Ordinances and Codes of Practice for Residential Care Homes (the Working Group) in June 2017 to review the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance (Cap. 459) and Residential Care Homes (Persons with Disabilities) Ordinance (Cap. 613) and the relevant Codes of Practice.
  • The Working Group completed the review in May 2019 and put forward 19 recommendations, including the classification of RCHs, statutory minimum staffing requirements, statutory minimum area of floor space per resident, requirements on operators, registration systems for home managers and health workers, age of residents, penalties, etc.
  • Some of the recommendations are related to the Code of Practice for Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) and the Code of Practice for Residential Care Homes (Persons with Disabilities). SWD has revised these two Codes of Practice and implemented them since 1 January 2020. For the remaining 14 recommendations involving relevant Ordinances for RCHs, they have to be implemented by way of legislative amendments. The Government is in the process of drafting the legislative amendments, and will submit them to the Legislative Council for scrutiny upon further examination and finalisation of the relevant details.

Licensing Scheme for Residential Care Homes for Persons With Disabilities (RCHDs)

  • The Residential Care Homes (Persons with Disabilities) Ordinance has been effective from 18 November 2011 and fully implemented since 10 June 2013. The Ordinance regulates the residential care service of RCHDs through a licensing scheme administered by the Director of Social Welfare (DSW). RCHDs that existed before the commencement of the Ordinance but were not yet able to fully comply with the licensing requirements may apply for Certificates of Exemption (CoEs), so as to allow time for them to carry out improvement works to comply with the licensing requirements and standards.
  • SWD has implemented various facilitating measures to assist RCHDs operating with CoEs in expediting the necessary rectification works.
  • As at 31 March 2021, 331 out of 334 (i.e. 99%) RCHDs have fully met the licensing requirements. SWD will continue to follow up closely on the progress of the improvement works of the remaining 3 RCHDs.

Training Subsidy Scheme for Staff of Residential Care Homes

  • SWD continues to implement the five-year scheme which was launched in March 2019 to provide full subsidies for home managers, health workers and care workers of all RCHEs and RCHDs in the territory to enrol in Qualifications Framework-based training courses. The entire scheme covers practitioners from over 1 000 RCHEs and RCHDs. SWD also provides training allowance for the RCHEs and RCHDs so that proper manpower arrangements can be made to maintain the operation of the homes while the health workers and care workers are taking courses. On-site training support and assessment are also provided for trainees.

Accreditation Subsidy Scheme for Private Residential Care Homes for the Elderly

  • SWD continues to implement the five-year scheme which was launched in October 2019 to provide full subsidies for private RCHEs joining SWD’s approved accreditation schemes under the Accredited Certification Body of Certification of Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Service Providers’ Management System recognised by the Hong Kong Accreditation Service. The subsidy scheme aims at encouraging private RCHEs to improve their service quality on a continuous basis through joining independent accreditation schemes for an objective assessment of their services by certification bodies. Over 500 private RCHEs throughout the territory may participate in the subsidy scheme.

Time-limited Programme on Enhancing Infection Control and Ventilation of Residential Care Homes

  • To further enhance infection control measures and improve ventilation of RCHEs and RCHDs, SWD launched a time-limited programme in December 2020 to arrange nurses to conduct on-site assessments on infection control, teach RCH staff about anti-epidemic knowledge and skills, and arrange technical engineering teams to conduct on-site ventilation assessments for these RCHs and make recommendations on ventilation improvement. For NGOs operating subvented RCHs or contract homes, special funding is provided to implement the recommended measures. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust also offers a one-off allowance (subject to a capped amount) for RCHs to purchase equipment so as to improve the ventilation of RCHs and strengthen support for the residents.

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