Human Rights Protection of Older Persons in Residential Care Home in Hong Kong

Abstract

Hong Kong is facing the challenge of a rapidly ageing population. In 2017, there are 1.2 million people aged 65 or above, amounting to 16.5% out of a population of 7.3 million. The percentage is projected to rise to 23% in 2024 and 30% in 2034. Hong Kong people has the highest life expectancy in the world, with men on average living up to 81.3 and women up to 87.3 years old, but the current law and policy has not adequately developed to match up with the high demand for long term care and support for older persons. The average waiting time for subsidized residential care home is 3 years. In addition, despite a statutory regulatory regime, the quality of residential care homes varies significantly. Recent scandals of elderly abuses in residential care homes raised serious concern about the adequacy of regulation and the quality of life of older persons in institutional care. The Elderly Commission has recently formulated the Elderly Service Programme Plan, and the government has also commenced review of the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance. The government should take this opportunity to reform the law and policy by adopting a human rights approach to older persons in residential care homes. It should focus on safeguarding and raising awareness of the human rights and dignity of older persons, including but not limited to the right to life, liberty, equality, privacy, health and an adequate standard of living. This research will do a comparative study with the law and policy of Japan on the protection of the rights of older persons in the context of residential care. It will evaluate for example, the long-term care insurance system, the elder abuse prevention law and the human rights law, to see how Hong Kong should make changes in the system and the culture to improve the well-being and protect the rights of older persons in residential care.