Coronavirus: social welfare group hits back after Hong Kong officials’ warning, says ‘unfair accusations’ will not help care homes in Covid-19 fight
- Hong Kong Council of Social Service says care homes for the elderly are ‘on the brink of collapse’, do not have enough resources to handle isolation of Covid-19 patients
- Elderly Commission chairman Dr Lam Ching-choi calls for unity to help care home staff contain surge in infections
A major social welfare group has hit back after Hong Kong officials warned operators of care homes for the elderly could be violating the sector’s code of practice if they refuse to take back recovered Covid-19 patients.
“The public may have misunderstood about the care homes. The fact is that the care homes are also on the brink of collapse,” said Chua Hoi-wai, president of HKCSS. “We should cooperate and combat the outbreak together. Unfair accusations are meaningless [and cannot] solve the problem.”
Chairman of the Elderly Commission and Executive Council member Dr Lam Ching-choi weighed in hours later, saying in a statement that he was deeply concerned about the recent discussion on the issue, and called for unity to help care home staff overcome the challenges of tackling the fifth wave of infections.
As of Saturday, health officials said about 100 staff and 1,450 elderly residents at 190 care homes had tested positive.
With the city’s public health care system overwhelmed by the recent surge in infections, many residents were forced to wait outdoors in the cold for hours before they could be admitted to hospital.
Hospital authorities have urged care homes for the elderly to take back recovered and stable residents after some overstretched facilities refused to accept returnees because of cross-infection fears.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said earlier on Saturday his department had the power to order care homes to take back elderly residents after they had been discharged.