A Hong Kong government hotline designed to support carers for elderly and disabled people has received about 14,600 calls since its launch last September, with 35 per cent of callers seeking emotional counselling, labour and welfare chief Chris Sun has said.
Authorities set up the hotline after multiple tragedies shed light on the burden caregivers face. In September, two middle-aged brothers who reportedly had intellectual disabilities were believed to have died from starvation after their elderly mother was admitted to the hospital. NGOs and lawmakers urged more assistance for carers.
“Carers are often physically and mentally exhausted in coping with their daily lives while shouldering caring responsibilities,” Sun, the secretary for labour and welfare, said in a reply to a lawmaker on Wednesday.
Sun said that the hotline received an average of about 80 calls per day up to mid-March. While emotional problems were the primary reason for calls, enquiries about community support services also amounted to 24 per cent, he said.
There were 17 calls which resulted in a “crisis intervention” through outreach services, he added.
Problems related to care-giving, finance, health and mental health were also among the reasons for calling the hotline, according to a document Sun submitted to the legislature.
Separately, Sun said that the government would continue to provide subsidised day care services to elderly residents through a scheme under the Social Welfare Department, which – since December – has requested 135 private residential care homes for such services.
About 20 elderly people have benefited from the day care scheme between December and February, he said.
57 publicly-funded day care centres for the elderly continue to operate, with around 120 users per day last year, he added.
Carers’ burden
Care for Carers, a joint platform formed by 20 NGOs and concern groups, has estimated that there are currently around 900,000 carers in Hong Kong taking care of people – including children and the elderly – with disabilities, long-term illnesses and special needs.
In December 2022, a couple in their 70s were arrested over allegedly killing their 47-year-old daughter who had a long-term illness. The incident was the fifth caregiver-related case in four months, sparking widespread concern that care-givers were suffering from burnout and insufficient support.
Sun, on Wednesday, said the government would put an extra HK$1 billion into researching elderly and rehabilitation care innovation, as it set up 21 designated teams to support dropouts from special needs schools along with their carers.
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