Family carers can help meet challenge of ageing population
Like the rest of the world, Hong Kong is facing the challenge of an ageing population. By 2036, 26.4 per cent of our population will be aged 65 or above.
The concepts of 'ageing in place' (at home) and 'care in the community' have been advocated by the government since 2000. To apply this concept to the elderly, families act as a backbone in the informal care system to manage seniors' multiple needs on a daily basis.
To better support families, the government set up various carer support service schemes in 1999 that continue to provide a range of services including education and training, peer support, social and recreational activities and referrals.
The overall value of these services has been affirmed in a Social Welfare Department evaluation in 2005. Overall user satisfaction is high, with more than 70 per cent of family carers agreeing that the services were effective in reducing their strain. But around 40 per cent of family carers said services could not meet their overall needs. This implies that there is a gap in the provision of services to support family carers of frail elders at home.
In the chief executive's policy address this year, the family was identified as the mainstay of our society. The government also allocated an additional HK$18 million to expand the family carer support services. This policy and fiscal agenda reflects the government's good efforts to support family carers who are our greatest resource for long-term care as our population ages. But whether the government can achieve such expected outcomes depends on the extent to which the services gap can be identified and addressed.
Supporting family carers is a complex endeavour, yet meeting their needs cannot be delayed any more as people have their limits. If the family carer system collapses, increased use of acute care and institutionalisation of elders is likely to be the result. The health care costs of Hong Kong will spiral out of control and the quality of life of our elders will be compromised.
Chair Sek Ying, associate professor; Diana Lee Tze-fan, chair professor of nursing and director; Doris Yu Sau-fung, associate professor, the Nethersole School of Nursing at Chinese University of Hong Kong
