Time to bring in mandatory accreditation scheme for Hong Kong’s care homes, says senior government official
- Executive Council member Dr Lam Ching-choi says time may have come to impose effective method of control on industry
- City has five voluntary schemes, but little in way of enforcement measures
Mandatory accreditation should be introduced to Hong Kong’s elderly care homes to improve the quality of services, a leading government adviser has said.
Dr Lam Ching-choi, chairman of the Elderly Commission and an Executive Council member, made the comments on Saturday after a report from the city’s ombudsman on the Social Welfare Department’s failings to adequately enforce regulations governing the standards required of care homes.
The report also exposed systemic failings within the industry as a whole.
Between 2014 and 2018, the department issued about 2,000 to 3,000 advisories a year to Hong Kong’s care homes; some received warnings on multiple occasions, but not a single home had its licence revoked over that time.
The quality of care provided for the city’s elderly residents was thrust into the spotlight in 2015, after Cambridge Nursing Home in Tai Po was exposed for leaving its tenants naked or half-dressed in the open air for up to 1 ½ hours before staff took them to the shower.