Huge study on disabled revealed as government accused of ignoring ageing problem
Welfare secretary says more than 11,000 mentally disabled people were surveyed, many of whom rely on care from elderly parents
More than 11,000 intellectually disabled Hongkongers were surveyed last year as part of a hush-hush report on their condition as they grow older.
The government revealed the survey had taken place after it was reported that a growing number of elderly people were taking care of fast-ageing children with mental disabilities with minimal help.
In a written reply to a question at the Legislative Council yesterday, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said Polytechnic University was commissioned by the government to do the study in March last year. About 11,400 people with mental disabilities who are currently using day centre, care home and employee support services were surveyed.
"After collating the data, [the working group] will meet with stakeholders and other interested parties ... to share the relevant data and collect their views for reference in preparing the study report and making recommendations to the government," Cheung said.
He did not say whether the report would be made public.
Double-elderly or triple-elderly households - families with two or three elderly people, some of whom would be parents caring for disabled individuals whose bodies aged faster than those of the average person - have become a growing and worrying trend. Grass-roots groups blasted the government for ignoring the ageing problem among disabled people at a Legco panel meeting on Tuesday.