bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Peace Chiu

Entering a home for the elderly is often seen as a death sentence in Hong Kong, but for 85-year-old Leung Siu-kwan, it is here where she manages to live life to the fullest again.
Leung was apprehensive when her son and his wife asked if she minded moving into a home.
“My daughter-in-law said she needed to work and could not take care of me,” the widow recalled.
But she was reassured when the couple told her Chuk Lam Ming Tong Care and Attention Home for the Aged in Pok Fu Lam was a good, well-run place.
That was 10 years ago. Leung, a former dishwasher, enjoys life there so much, she dismisses the idea of returning to be with her family.

“It is boring at home, it’s more fun here with many people,” the affable woman said cheerily.
She looks forward to card games with other residents, and regular excursions, including an upcoming trip to Disneyland.
The government-subsidised home is almost 30 years old and located among the high-end residences of Hong Kong Island’s Southern District.
The four-storey building with its characteristic green Chinese roof sits in leafy grounds of more than 20,000 sq ft, including a koi pond and a path. It is considered big by Hong Kong standards, housing only 175 residents in 35 five-person rooms.
For Leung and the other residents, it is the home’s human touch that makes all the difference.
Has time come to change way homes for elderly in Hong Kong are operated?
The man responsible for the place’s homely feel is superintendent Leung Chu-hei, who said: “When an elderly person comes here, it is likely to be for the rest of his or her life.”
That is his motivation for coming up with new ways to run the home. Leung, 35, who was promoted to superintendent about six years ago, said he and his staff meet regularly to brainstorm ideas to serve residents better.
Leung graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social work from Baptist University and a social service management master’s from Chinese University. He has worked for more than 10 years in elderly homes, including management experience in another institution before moving to Chuk Lam Ming Tong.

He said his experience had led him to value the relationship with the elderly and spend more time talking to them to understand what they wanted, while balancing that with his resources.
While some activities such as excursions are self-financed, he has also found ways to add more at no cost. He roped in a friend to teach residents how to make lanterns during Lunar New Year, and pupils from a primary school are regular visitors to help residents with gardening.
It is telling too, that many children of residents who have died come back as volunteers, accompanying the elderly on excursions, for example.
If we can think from the senior citizens’ perspective, the whole elderly care scene will be very different
Leung Chu-hei, superintendent
The home’s good practices have drawn staff of around 100 social welfare organisations to visit and learn.
Leung said that often, for convenience, those running homes for the elderly merely continue delivering services that have been provided for a long time.
“If we can think from the senior citizens’ perspective, the whole elderly care scene will be very different,” he said.
Take food, for example. While most homes keep their dishes bland, Leung provides more varied menus by consulting a nutritionist to first ensure the meals are healthy, while staff think of ways to allow residents to enjoy something tasty. So even those with diabetes get low-sugar cheesecake as a treat.

The idea is to encourage the residents to want to eat, because a lack of food takes a toll on their health.
The home has also reduced the number of residents who need restraints to stop them from scratching or wandering about at night. It brought in a dermatologist to help those with skin problems. The home also pushed back dinner time, and this has helped residents to sleep better instead of waking and walking around at night.
Now only around 20 need restraints, a third of the number a few years ago.
With its good reputation and fees of only around HK$2,000 (US$256) a month, the home has more people wanting to move in than it can accept, and the waiting time is around four years.
Hong Kong’s miserly approach to elderly care is nothing to be proud of
Unlike the Chuk Lam Ming Tong home, living conditions are dire in many privately run facilities, especially those that do not charge hefty fees. Private homes charge anything from thousands of dollars to tens of thousands per month.
In 2015, Hong Kong was shocked by reports that residents of the private Cambridge Nursing Home in Tai Po were left naked or half-dressed in an open-air area for up to 90 minutes while waiting for showers.
There is a persistent shortage of subsidised places in homes for the elderly. As of December last year, there were 32,461 subsidised places, but as of February, there was a waiting list of 40,434. The waiting time is around two years. According to a 2017 University of Hong Kong report, the city will need about 64,000 such places in 2030 and nearly 98,000 in 2051.
In 2017, the Social Welfare Department formed a working group to review laws and standards that apply to residential homes for the elderly as well as for those with disabilities following the Cambridge Nursing Home incident.

Working group member and social worker Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung said the panel intends proposing that the ratio of personal care workers to residents be raised from the current 1:40 during the day to 1:20, and from 1:60 to 1:40 at night.
Others feel these proposals remain inadequate, and ought to be 1:10 in the day and 1:20 at night.
The Chuk Lam Ming Tong home has around 100 staff, including personal care workers, nurses and social workers. The 12 personal care workers on the morning shift make for a ratio of around 1:15.
Superintendent Leung said he was able to have more workers by saving on expenditure, including by using energy saving lighting and air conditioning.
He also pays workers more. Personal care workers, who are responsible for duties such as showering the residents, get up to HK$20,000 a month, more than the going rate of HK$13,000 to HK$14,000.
“They deserve to be compensated fairly for the hard work they do. It has paid off, because we have a low turnover rate,” he said.

Former factory worker Lai Yuk-ling, 77, moved in last year, after spending more than two years in a privately run home.
A spinal condition makes it hard for her to get around without help, and moving to a home was best as only one of her two sons is still living and he has mental health problems.
She said she liked the Chuk Lam Ming Tong home better than the previous place she was at. The food is better, and on special occasions like Lunar New Year, there is chicken, goose, fish and soup.
“We also went to Tsim Sha Tsui for Indian food and Tuen Mun for a Chinese feast which included snake soup,” she said, recalling recent excursions.
Lai said aside from the friendly staff, she also liked the many activities available. She is learning calligraphy and Mandarin.
“It feels like a big family here,” she said.


Outrage in South Korea over ‘importing virgins’ proposal to raise birth rate

China’s real constraint is where to direct limited fiscal resources

Silver bullet: New Oriental pivots to late-age learners as China ages

Japanese grannies are back in business at start-up where age is just a number

Ageing society

The Hong Kong home for the elderly where human touch makes all the difference for residents

Leung Siu-kwan has lived at the Chuk Lam Ming Tong Care and Attention Home for the Aged for 10 years. Photo: Dickson Lee

(L-R): Interview with Lai Yuk-ling, 77; Leung Chu-hei, Superintendent of Chuk Lam Ming Tong Care and Attention Home for the Aged; and Leung Siu-kwan, 85, about how to treat elderly more humanely at the Chuk Lam Ming Tong Care & Attention Home for the Aged in Pok Fu Lam. 08MAR19 SCMP / Dickson Lee

A meal at an elderly home is seen during an interview with members of an elderly home about how to treat elderly more humanely at the Chuk Lam Ming Tong Care & Attention Home for the Aged in Pok Fu Lam. 08MAR19 SCMP / Dickson Lee

Interview with members of an elderly home about how to treat elderly more humanely at the Chuk Lam Ming Tong Care & Attention Home for the Aged in Pok Fu Lam. 08MAR19 SCMP / Dickson Lee

A calendar for the elderly is seen during an interview with members of an elderly home about how to treat elderly more humanely at the Chuk Lam Ming Tong Care & Attention Home for the Aged in Pok Fu Lam. 08MAR19 SCMP / Dickson Lee

Hong Kong’s health voucher scheme for the elderly has been running for a decade – so why are curbs on usage being imposed and what effect will they have?

Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee holds a press conference on 2019-20 Budget initiatives under Food and Health Bureau at the Central Government Offices in Tamar. 01MAR19 SCMP / Sam Tsang

Lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki attends a press conference on shortage of public mental health services for children and teenagers at Legco Building in Tamar. 21APR18 SCMP / Edward Wong

Elderly Health Care Voucher Pilot Scheme, Pictured at TY Medical Practice chain in Causeway Bay. 26APR18 SCMP / Fung Chang

Vouchers can be used for a range of private medical services. Photo: Sam Tsang

Hong Kong welfare secretary says elderly care homes will not turn to foreign domestic helpers to fill the labour shortage

Hong Kong’s elderly care homes face a severe staff shortage as the city’s population continues to age. Photo: Nora Tam

This image shows elderly people in a care centre, Shek Tsai Leng, Kwu Tung. 14NOV16 SCMP/Sam Tsang

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong talk about the CSSA (Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme) at the Central Government Offices in Tamar. Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced a new monthly cash handout to compensate senior citizens who would be deprived of their regular allowances due to contentious revisions to the existing old-age benefit. 18JAN19 SCMP / Felix Wong

Is Hong Kong’s government targeting the powerless in elderly welfare scheme change that has scandalised city?

A controversial change to the age threshold for higher elderly welfare payments has drawn heavy fire from critics and society, and the government still faces pressure after putting up measures to address discontent. Photo: David Wong

65-year-old Sister Wong, has been living on the street and collecting cardboards for more than two years in Sheung Shui. 23JUN17 SCMP / Jonathan Wong

People cross a street in a business district in Central, the city's central business district. 16MAY17 SCMP / Fung Chang

SCMP

(L-R): Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong talk about the CSSA (Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme) at the Central Government Offices in Tamar. Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced a new monthly cash handout to compensate senior citizens who would be deprived of their regular allowances due to contentious revisions to the existing old-age benefit. 18JAN19 SCMP / Felix Wong

News

Hong Kong

Society

Superintendent has come up with new ways to run Chuk Lam Ming Tong Care and Attention Home for the Aged in Pok Fu Lam
Home’s good practices have drawn staff of around 100 social welfare organisations to visit and learn


In a city where decent care facilities for the elderly are in short supply, the good practices at Chuk Lam Ming Tong Care and Attention Home for the Aged have drawn staff of around 100 social welfare organisations to visit and learn.


Wellness