Hong Kong authorities will experiment leasing government-built elderly care facilities to the private sector, with the pilot programme aiming to provide more diverse services targeting middle class senior residents.
Labour and Welfare Bureau officials said in a Legislative Council panel meeting on Monday that the government would roll out a “publicly built, privately run” model to provide “more diverse and higher quality” elderly care services.
Under the proposal, the government will invite non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and private operators to submit proposals for self-financed services in newly built day care centres for the elderly. Operators must allocate a quota of their services to the Social Welfare Department so it can make arrangements for senior residents who need them.
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Undersecretary for Labour and Welfare Ho Kai-ming told Legco’s panel on welfare services that most day care centres in the city are currently contracted to operators on the government’s lump sum grants, which provide similar services under the tendering terms.
“The aim is to see if new services can be developed by piloting this new model in communities at different levels,” Ho said.
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“Hong Kong society is becoming more diverse and the elderly from the middle class and above also have their own needs for care services.”
Asked by Election Committee lawmaker Andrew Lam Siu-lo whether the arrangement would lead to services that favoured the elderly with better financial means, Ho did not reply directly but said basic care services provided by the government would remain unaffected.