UpdateHong Kong elderly home faces loss of licence after naked abuse scandal

Elderly people in a nursing home at the centre of a storm over its poor treatment of residents face an uncertain future after the Social Welfare Department said it would not renew its licence when it expired tomorrow.

The decision follows reports this week that residents of the Cambridge Nursing Home in Tai Po were left naked or half-dressed on an open-air podium for up to 90 minutes before staff took them to shower.

The department said in a statement yesterday that notice had been served to the home that its renewal application would be refused. It had a week to appeal.

The institution houses around 50 tenants on its third floor and 50 on the first floor. The second floor is currently under renovation.

Although the contract for the second and third floor expires tomorrow, it will remain valid until the department makes a formal decision.

Ms Lo, whose 90-year-old mother has been living at the home for three years, paying over HK$10,000 a month, complained of being left in the dark.