Protesters Rally Against Cramped Care Home Spaces

A group of around 20 people staged a protest outside the Social Welfare Department in Wan Chai on Friday, calling for more space to be provided for elderly and disabled people living in residential care homes.

A panel set up by the department is currently considering to increase the minimum area per person in care homes – which is 6.5 square metres under current laws. This includes space for bed and shared areas.

Protesters said they are unhappy with that the panel is considering a plan to increase the minimum space requirement to 9.5 square metres per resident.

The want the minimum required space in new care homes to be 16 square metres per head. The requirement for existing care homes should gradually increased to 9.5 square metres, they said.

Protesters said the laws regulating care homes were enacted in 1996.

Former lawmaker Lau Siu-lai, who was among the protesters, said wheelchair users in particular need more space to move around safely.

"We request at least the bedroom should be 8 square metres because it will let the wheelchair to go inside and then the elderly can have their own living [space] inside these elderly homes," Lau said.

They are basic human rights that should not be guided by the profit motive of care home operators, she said.

Labour Party lawmaker Fernando Cheung, who’s a member of the panel set up by the government, said he’s worried that the government may cave in to pressure from private operators who are more concerned about their costs.

Cheung said the director of the Social Welfare Department had decided not to discuss the matter for the time being as panel members failed to reach a consensus even after six meetings.

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