A Trust Fund for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Trust Fund) is set up under the Director of Social Welfare Incorporated Ordinance to provide, on compassionate grounds, special ex-gratia assistance to those dependent family members of the deceased SARS patients, to some recovered SARS patients suffering from longer term effects attributable to SARS as well as those 'suspected' SARS patients treated with steroids ('Suspected' patients treated with steroids refer to those who were clinically diagnosed as having SARS on admission, treated with steroids as medication for SARS, but turned out subsequently not to have SARS) suffering from longer term effects, attributable to the effects of steroids received.

The purview of the Fund would be confined to those patients, who are Hong Kong residents, clinically diagnosed as having SARS during the outbreak in Hong Kong from March to June 2003.

The assistance is special and ex-gratia in nature, on a without admission of liability basis and is to be administered by the Director of Social Welfare in consultation with an independent Committee.

The Trust Fund for SARS would not accept new application with effect from 1 January 2006, unless the Hospital Authority has tentatively confirmed that there is medical indication that the potential applicant is likely to be suffering from SARS-related dysfunction(s).

Special ex-gratia relief payment for families with deceased SARS patients.

Special ex-gratia financial assistance for the recovered SARS patients and the 'suspected' SARS patients treated with steroids.

 

A Committee chaired by a non-official and comprising a balanced mix of non-official members and some official members has been set up to advice the Administration on the operation of and applications for assistance from the Trust Fund.

A Review Committee chaired by a non-official has also been set up.

Recipients of the special ex-gratia assistance are required to make reimbursement (the special ex-gratia assistance or common law damages, whichever is the lower) to the Fund, in case they succeed in obtaining common law damages subsequently.

For applicants who are receiving or applying for the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA), the special ex-gratia assistance received would be counted in the income and asset tests of CSSA.