Residential care homes for the elderly are facilities for senior citizens who cannot be adequately taken care at their own homes for personal, social, health or other reasons. In Hong Kong, there are four types of residential care homes for elderly people requiring different levels of care. The map shows the geographic distribution of these residential services, with the corresponding elderly population and types of service providers.
As depicted by the pie charts, most residential services for the elderly are currently provided by Care and Attention Homes for the Elderly, followed by Nursing Homes. As shown by graduated colours, residential services are available for less than 7% of district population aged 70 or above in Eastern, Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong and Shatin. The overall demand is increasing, while the discrepancy is higher in some districts. With population aging in Hong Kong, planning residential care services for our senior citizens is a big challenge for the society in the near future.
Data for the map were obtained from Social Welfare Department, Hong Kong.
To meet different care needs of elderly people, four types of residential care homes are established in Hong Kong including (i) hostels for the elderly, (ii) homes for the aged, (iii) care and attention homes for the elderly, and (iv) nursing homes. Elderly in nursing homes require the highest level of care and generally suffer from severe physical or mental disabilities with deficiency in activities of daily living, while those in hostels for the elderly or homes for the aged require limited degree of assistance in daily activities.
Beside provision of residential care and facilities for the elderly in need, residential care services also aim to promote and maintain the health of elderly people and meet the social and recreational needs of its residents.