65.     Next, we will consider community care vouchers to provide a direct subsidy for elderly people who need long-term care to acquire a wide range of services, and encourage diversity in service delivery agents.  In parallel, we will provide more places for existing community care services.

66.     Residential care services in Hong Kong are relatively developed, with 20% of our residential care places provided by subvented and contract homes and the remaining 80% by private and self-financing homes.  In recent years, the vacancy rate of private homes has remained at about 30%.  These private homes still have considerable capacity to cope with service demand.

67.     The waiting time for subsidised places is long, not only because there is an actual shortage of nursing home places providing a higher level of care, but also because of the personal preferences of the applicants.  Take the care and attention home places of a lower care level as an example.  At present, 99% of elderly people on the waiting list have specified their district of choice.  Since it takes time to satisfy their choices, the average waiting time is 22 months.  If there is no location preference, an elderly person can get a place right away.

68.     Currently, applicants for subsidised residential care places are not required to pass a means test.  They only need to be assessed to confirm their needs for long-term care.  In order to better allocate public resources to help those who most need residential care, we have to make best use of the care and attention home places provided by the private sector.  At the same time, we need to focus our resources on the nursing home places that the private sector finds difficult to operate.

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