Hong Kong lawmakers urge stronger medical-social ties to support aging-in-place
Hong Kong's Legislative Council debated a non-binding motion on aging-in-place, with lawmakers calling for enhanced medical-social collaboration, affordable gerontech rentals, and better community care services to support the city's elderly population.
Hong Kong's Legislative Council on 5 November debated a non-binding motion to promote aging-in-place and build an age-friendly community, as lawmakers urged the government to boost medical-social collaboration and expand support for elderly residents.
Moving the motion, Election Committee lawmaker Chan Cho-kwong said Hong Kong faces the challenge of an aging population. He proposed establishing discharge support standards for high-risk elderly individuals to ensure they receive proper assessments, home-based rehabilitation, and community care services after leaving hospital.
Chan also suggested leveraging public-private partnerships to provide affordable gerontech product rentals and subsidies, while expanding the network of recognised service units under the Community Care Service Voucher scheme. He called for simplifying conversion procedures to allow elderly residents to flexibly combine rehabilitation, meal delivery, home cleaning and day care services according to their needs.
Kowloon Central lawmaker Kitson Yang Wing-kit expressed concern that individual areas such as Wong Tai Sin currently lack a hospital with an accident and emergency department, arguing that the government should re-plan the emergency service network. He recommended strengthening the development of a barrier-free community by installing elevators in older public housing estates and improving MTR station exit facilities.
Yang also urged authorities to tackle severe delays and stalled projects involving certain elevator installations in recent years by strictly vetting contractors' bidding capabilities.
The motion, though non-binding, signals growing legislative attention to Hong Kong's demographic challenges and the need for integrated medical and social care systems to support elderly residents in their communities.
