Exclusive|Hong Kong to seek more elderly care places in Guangdong, Chris Sun says

Authorities will negotiate with operators of popular care homes in Guangdong province to secure more places for elderly Hongkongers to meet rising demand, the welfare minister has said, amid a ninefold surge in city residents moving into such facilities across the border in recent years. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said in an interview with the South China Morning Post that the number of elderly Hong Kong residents living in care homes under the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong had grown significantly, underscoring the rising popularity of retiring in mainland China. “By March this year, there were 1,100 elderly people in Hong Kong who opted for residence in one of the 26 residential care homes in Guangdong. This is totally their own choice,” he said. “If you look at the growth, it’s quite impressive. Just by the end of 2022, the number was 120. From 120 all the way to 1,100, that’s about nine times growth. So, obviously, it proves to be quite a popular service available to them.” Sun noted Shenzhen and Guangzhou were among the most popular cities, and authorities would negotiate with operators to increase the places offered for Hongkongers if there was greater need. “Based on the usage statistics, response from the users and also the service level, we can always adjust, not just the quota, we can always renegotiate the contract,” he said. “We’re trying to grow, to develop the whole programme, so there are different choices all over the Greater Bay Area cities.” The government launched the programme in 2014, allowing elderly people on the central waiting list for subsidised care and attention places to choose to live in designated care homes in Guangdong. The scheme provides fully subsidised care, covering accommodation, nursing and meals. The number of facilities under the scheme has risen from the initial two to 26 as part of a government push to help older residents relocate to nine Guangdong cities within the bay area, which also includes Hong Kong and Macau, amid an ageing population. There are eight care homes in Guangzhou, followed by six in Foshan, five in Shenzhen and two in Huizhou. Zhongshan, Zhaoqing, Jiangmen, Zhuhai and Dongguan have one each. Statistics from the Social Welfare Department showed that 1,178 Hongkongers were living in the 26 care homes under the scheme by the end of last month. Of them, 434 were living in Shenzhen, followed by 267 in Foshan and 260 in Guangzhou. Under the scheme, the department negotiates and signs contracts with care homes based on the type of the facility, service packages and locations, and pays the service fees based on the actual number of elderly participants. Starting last December, participants can also apply for a subsidy for medical expenses incurred at designated medical institutions within the bay area under the coverage of the National Basic Medical Insurance Policy. The annual ceiling is 10,000 yuan (US$1,470) for outpatient expenses and 30,000 yuan for inpatient expenses per person. The government also launched a three-year pilot scheme last October, providing a monthly subsidy of HK$5,000 (US$640) for elderly recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) to live in the care homes in Guangdong, with a quota of 1,000 people. But only five residents have joined the scheme so far. Sun said some were in the process of making applications to authorities, while the government would review the scheme later. “We can review the situation maybe towards the end of this year when we deal with more cases,” he said. “If necessary, we can also consider some refinements to the scheme.” He added: “The key is only through a pilot then we know what are the factors attracting them to go over the border and what are preventing them.” Sun noted that many elderly residents on CSSA allowances lived in dilapidated private flats, adding that the scheme would provide an alternative. “If we can provide them with an extra choice, they can choose to go to one of the 26 residential care homes in the Greater Bay Area,” he said. “With the extra HK$5,000 support from the government, they will be having a much better living space and a much better living standard while keeping our cost on a cost-neutral basis.” Asked whether the government would consider increasing subsidies to make the scheme more attractive, Sun said cost was not the only factor deterring residents from moving across the border, and he stressed the need for it to remain cost-neutral. “When they stay here in Hong Kong in a very small dilapidated place, more or less the cost for us is about HK$9,000 to HK$10,000. With that same amount of money, we can provide a better living space, better living environment for them over the border,” he said. “If we increase the subsidy and it’s no longer cost-neutral, that means we pay more if they go over the border. It’s not fair to those who are residing here in Hong Kong.” The number of people aged 65 and above in Hong Kong is expected to nearly double from 1.45 million in 2021 to 2.74 million by 2046, when more than one in three residents will be elderly, according to official projections. Kenneth Chan Chi-yuk, chairman of Hong Kong-based Hygge Living, which operates three of the 26 designated care homes – one in Shenzhen, one in Zhuhai and the other in Foshan – said the company would expand care places for Hongkongers as more retirees moved across the border. He said the Foshan facility planned to add 700 beds for Hongkongers in August. The company also aimed to add two to three facilities under the scheme each year to meet rising demand, with Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Zhongshan among the target locations, Chan said. “We have seen a surge in the trend of elderly people heading north for retirement, especially in cities closer to Hong Kong, with the number of older residents choosing to move into the care facilities there increasing significantly every month,” he said.