Key facts
- Hong Kong will review its age threshold for elderly welfare services.
- The review follows the deaths of a 70-year-old man and his 78-year-old wife.
- The couple were not eligible for targeted social worker visits because they were under 80.
- The current policy targets elderly residents aged 80 and above for welfare visits.
- Authorities are considering expanding priority community care to include dementia patients and carers over 60.
Hong Kong's Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Chris Sun Yuk-han, announced a review of the age threshold for elderly welfare services following a tragedy. A 70-year-old man and his 78-year-old wife were found dead in their home, but were not eligible for targeted social worker visits because they were both under the age of 80.
Sun stated that the couple were not included for visits or follow-up by social workers as they did not meet the criteria based on the Housing Authority's household register, which typically identifies the elderly needy aged 80 or above. He described the incident as a "tragedy" and pledged to ask his colleagues to follow up on the case.
Looking ahead, Sun indicated that the government would optimize its use of big data to determine if the age threshold for priority care targets should be lowered to encompass more elderly individuals in need. Authorities are also considering expanding priority community care to include dementia patients and carers of people with severe disabilities aged over 60.