Residential Respite Service for the Elderly

Introduction

Residential respite service is a form of temporary or short-term residential care service for the elderly person. It serves the objective of providing temporary relief for family members or relatives who are the main caregivers of the elderly requiring a certain degree of personal care whilst residing in the community. It aims at encouraging and helping the elderly to continue living in the community for as long as possible.

Eligibility Criteria

Elderly persons are considered eligible for residential respite service if they are:

1. aged 60 or above;
2. in need of short-term residential care so that family members or relatives as their main caregivers may take a break from providing the care on a long-term basis;
3. physically and mentally fit for communal living;
4. requiring a level of personal and nursing care corresponding to the admission criteria of the particular type of residential service; and
5. to be taken back into care by the family upon expiry of the respite period.

Application Procedure

Referrals for admission to residential respite service should be made by a social worker. Elderly persons or their families may approach casework service units (e.g. Integrated Family Service Centres / Integrated Services Centres, Medical Social Services Units) or elderly service units (eg. District Elderly Community Centres, Neighbourhood Elderly Centres, Enhanced Home and Community Care Services Teams and Integrated Home Care and Services Teams) who will assess the elderly's needs and make referrals to the residential care homes for the elderly or nursing homes concerned if considered suitable.

For elderly persons or their families in urgent need of Residential Respite Service for the Elderly during non-office hours, they may directly approach the service operator of private residential care homes for the elderly under the EBPS providing residential respite service for assistance. Non-office hours are (i) Monday to Saturday, from 5pm to 9am of the following day, and (ii) Sunday and Public Holidays, from 9am to 9am of the following day.

You may click the link to “Vacancy Enquiry System for Respite Services / Emergency Placement”, for the vacancy information of Designated Residential Respite Places in subvented residential care homes for the elderly, contract homes and private homes participating in Enhanced Bought Place Scheme.

For any enquiry, please contact SWD Hotline at 2343 2255.

Information of Service Unit

For further details, you may read or download the following documents for reference: