Integrated care services center for senior citizens launched

Paul Pun, Secretary-General of Caritas Macau

The opening of Macau’s first integrated home care services center for senior citizens, called “Retribuição” [Retribution], was inaugurated yesterday at Seac Pai Van.

Both Chief Executive, Chui Sai On, and the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, were present at the center’s inauguration ceremony.

The center is said to be the first senior citizens’ care center which provides home-based care and support, community-based day care, institutional residential care services, and integrated care services.

Caritas Macau is the service provider of this center.  Secretary-General of Caritas Macau, Paul Pun, expects to welcome the first batch of senior citizens at the center by the end of this year.

“There are nearly 300 positions, and some of them [senior citizens] will live here temporarily. On a daily basis, approximately 200 senior citizens will live in the center,” said Pun.

“With the opening of this center, the waiting time [for senior citizens to be accepted by a care center] will be shorter.”

In Pun’s opinion, being located in Seac Pai Van the center is surrounded with a good environment and has a convenient transportation network.

“Another advantage of the center is that it has nature nearby, which is quite difficult to find in Macau,” remarked Pun.

According to Pun, the center already has sufficient human resources to provide services at this stage.

“However, community- based work is really difficult to predict, […] therefore we will attract a few social enthusiasts to support [the work],” said Pun.