Govt Caught In A Spot Over Bigger Care Homes: CE

The Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Wednesday that the government faces a dilemma between bigger and better care homes – and longer waiting times.

She was responding to a question in Legco from Labour Party lawmaker Fernando Cheung who said many elderly people have to spend their days in cramped care homes with poor hygiene. The CE said any move for bigger space would even see some elderly people losing the care homes places they have now, whatever the quality is like.

Activists are demanding that the government change regulations to ensure that at least 16 square metres of space is available for each person in elderly care homes.

Cheung said all new care homes built by the government have more than this as a minimum space. "The only problem is that we are not imposing it on all privately-run care homes," he said.

He told RTHK's Frances Sit that it is a matter of government vision, political will power and resource allocation.