The article discusses the trial program of the "Elderly Community Care Voucher" initiated by the Social Welfare Department, which adopts a "money follows the person" model. The programme allows eligible elderly individuals to use the community care vouchers to choose suitable community care services based on their individual needs, supporting them in aging at home. The programme is set to be normalized starting from September this year.

 

On 23rd August, RTHK's programme "Uniting Hong Kong" invited government representatives and Mr. Lau To-hin, the Elderly and Health Services Manager of the Methodist Centre, for an interview to introduce the details of the programme to the public.

 

Mr. Lau To-hin, the Elderly and Health Services Manager of the Methodist Centre, mentioned in the programme that the "blended mode" under the community care vouchers allows elderly individuals to choose both day care center services and home care services simultaneously, showcasing the high flexibility of the programme.

 

Ms. Chan Wai-yan, Senior Social Work Officer (Community Care Voucher) of the Social Welfare Department, stated that in addition to the normalization of the programme in September, there are three optimization measures. These measures include allowing voucher holders to purchase services from two accredited service units simultaneously, significantly increasing the flexibility of the community vouchers.

 

Furthermore, she mentioned that an online platform will be introduced for the elderly service vouchers, enabling real-time monitoring of voucher usage. In the future, the scope of the vouchers will be expanded to cover the rental of assistive technology products. The number of beneficiaries will gradually increase from 8,000 to 12,000 by the year 2025-26.

 

Programme Replay:

RTHK Website: Replay of the interview on the "Elderly Community Care Voucher" program 10'11"-15'38"

(Chinese only)