Anxiety, isolation among Hong Kong’s elderly amid Covid-19 pandemic – and how you can help
- Senior Citizen Home Safety Association is one of 19 beneficiaries of this year’s Operation Santa Claus, a fundraising drive by the South China Morning Post and RTHK
- Funds obtained will help provide a range of home care services for the elderly – including medical care, house cleaning support, and daily help with personal hygiene
The Senior Citizen Home Safety Association (SCHSA) reported a 52 per cent year-on-year increase in cases where elderly people needed emotional support, and a 36 per cent rise in cases deemed a “suicide risk”.
“We saw many people with signs of emotional distress and anxiety. In some, there was even a relapse in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder,” Maura Wong Hung-hung, the association’s CEO, said.
According to her, it all started in February, when Hongkongers started scrambling for masks amid a shortage of the protective gear.
“Many of the city’s elderly couldn’t obtain masks and became extremely anxious. Some even thought they were going to die, they were that scared,” she said.
“It’s a really big deal for them when they cannot go out and see their friends, which happens to be their main pastime,” Wong said.
She added that many at-home services for the elderly – such as outreach or meal delivery services – were forced to come to a halt amid the pandemic, further stripping seniors of social interactions.
“The Senior Citizen Home Safety Association did not stop any of its services during the pandemic. In fact, we had to fill in wherever there were holes,” Wong said.
Funds obtained through Operation Santa Claus will go towards the SCHSA’s Easy Home Services, which provide a range of home care services for the elderly – including simple medical care, house cleaning services, and daily help with personal hygiene.
Wong said with the pandemic still raging, Easy Home Services staff had to do more to cater to the needs of the elderly. Their work included delivering groceries to people, or arranging for medication for those who could no longer visit their doctors.
The SCHSA also reported an 8 per cent annual increase in cases where the elderly sought help with family issues, and a 56 per cent rise in carers looking for support.
“For some, the pandemic meant family members staying at home for longer, leading to more conflicts,” said Wong.
Realising there must be even more seniors who were not reaching out to them and quietly suffering, the association’s members began calling up the elderly to check on them, starting with those considered the most vulnerable – such as patients of chronic diseases, people living alone, and those without emergency contacts.
Since February, hundreds of thousands of people have been contacted.
The association continues to hire new carers, many of whom are fresh out of the Employees Retraining Board, to meet increased demand for supporting the elderly during the pandemic.
You can make donations to Operation Santa Claus here
