Support center for elderly and carers to be established following family tragedy, gov’t says

Following the release on Thursday of a Judiciary Police (PJ) report on a family case involving an elderly individual’s attempted suicide, the local government has pledged to set up a support hub to bolster assistance for senior citizens and their carers across the board.

According to an official statement, the center is to be located in the northern district and is planned to offer a range of services, including caregiving skills training, emotional support, case follow-up, and diversified assistance tailored to the needs of an ageing population. In addition, an extra community service team dedicated to elderly individuals living alone will be deployed to provide more targeted support for caregivers, solitary seniors, and elderly couples.

The center is expected to commence operations within the year, authorities noted.

At present, mental health support services – including assessment, counselling, referral and case follow-up – are only available at nine local health centers, which carry out the Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) comprehensive assessment to gauge elderly patients’ physical, mental, cognitive and functional well-being and provide appropriate interventions accordingly.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the recent incident, the statement noted that the Health Bureau (SSM) had promptly reviewed ICOPE-related data to further identify elderly individuals showing depressive symptoms, with a history of psychiatric consultations, or deemed to have been at risk of suicide.

It was also noted that the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS), through collaboration with non-governmental organizations, already offers a range of services – including family resource centers, home care and caregiver support schemes, and carer assistance programmes – covering emotional counselling, respite care, caregiving training and case follow-up.

In addition, some day-care and nursing centers provide flexible services such as short-term care, extended day care and holiday care, while residential facilities offer short-term stays, enabling caregivers facing emergencies or temporary difficulties to access timely support and thereby alleviating their caregiving burden.