Ombudsman to probe process of granting disability allowances
The ombudsman is to investigate the Social Welfare Department's practices in granting the disability allowance after finding apparent inconsistencies in the treatment of similarly disabled recipients.
'Complaints we have received raise questions of consistency and objectivity,' Ombudsman Alice Tai Yuen-ying said. 'Cases before us show that applicants with similar disability may, or may not, be granted [the allowance] entirely on the basis of individual doctors' medical assessment, which may differ among doctors.'
People assessed as severely disabled can apply for the normal disability allowance of HK$1,170 a month, while those who also need constant attendance by others can receive the higher disability allowance of HK$2,340 a month.
'The definition of the term 'severely disabled' is complex and there is no sufficient guidance to doctors for interpretation of the criteria for grants,' Ms Tai said.
Assistant Ombudsman Tony Ma Kai-loong said the office had received 13 complaints against the system used to grant the disability allowance so far this year and 10 last year.
In one case he cited, an applicant was granted a disability allowance for being blind in both eyes on the basis of a doctor's recommendation and an assessment of his physical condition, but he lost it a year later when it became apparent he was not blind. 'I believe [the department] could see that the applicant was not blind, but it approved the subsidy solely according to the assessment from the doctor,' Mr Ma said.
He said that in the medical assessment forms prepared by the department and filled in by medical staff, the disabilities of about 60 per cent of some 120,000 disability allowance cases as of May this year fell into the category of 'others'.
Ms Tai said: 'This suggests that the current categorisation is not detailed or precise enough for consistent and objective assessment.'
Mr Ma said 34 per cent of 299 appeal cases in 2007-08 handled by the Social Security Appeal Board had taken over six months to process.
A department spokesman said it welcomed the ombudsman's decision to look into the matter and would help with the investigation.
