A carer support hotline commissioned by the Hong Kong government handled almost 100,000 calls in nearly two years since its launch, with operations set to be scaled up to meet growing demand.
Advertisement
Operated by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, the 24-hour “182183” hotline provides emotional support and referrals to welfare services. It is staffed by more than 100 social workers, who operate in shifts across 30 phone lines.
Since its launch in September 2023, amid a spate of family tragedies involving stressed carers, the operator had handled 99,899 calls as of June 30 this year, according to Venus Ho Ka-yi, supervisor of the hotline centre.
Most callers sought emotional support, followed by inquiries about services. The team also made 1,744 referrals, including 208 to respite centres, which Ho said was important for allowing carers to buy time to hire a domestic helper or find a residential care home for their loved ones following hospital discharge.
A carer surnamed Lam, in her sixties, called the hotline early one morning in January this year during an emotional meltdown.
She had spent the previous four days cleaning up after her 97-year-old mother, who, despite incontinence and mobility issues, refused to use nappies and insisted on going to the toilet unaided.
Advertisement
“It was frustrating that she did not listen to me, and I broke down emotionally,” she said. “I called the hotline asking for respite services; I would take any respite centre no matter how far it is, because I wouldn’t be able to survive the night without it.”
Lam recalled social workers telling her “not to worry about money” and swiftly arranging a wheelchair, transport and a care assistant to send her mother to a respite centre in Sai Wan.