Following the fatal incident in Lai King on Friday (June 19), Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun offered his deepest condolences and pledged to integrate elderly patients with chronic illnesses into the government's social welfare safety net.
In the incident, a couple was found unconscious in a flat at Lai King Estate, and a 78‑year‑old woman among them was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Speaking to reporters after attending a radio programme on Saturday (June 20), Sun said he had looked into the case and found that the couple was not under the care of the Social Welfare Department or any non‑governmental organisations.
He revealed that the government plans to expand the coverage of its "vulnerable families" registry – an initiative launched last July to identify at‑risk families at an earlier stage. The authorities hope that a more proactive identification mechanism can prevent similar tragedies.
Sun pointed out, "At present, our target is all elderly households aged 80 or above, but both residents in yesterday's Lai King case were below 80." He added that the government is considering moving away from using age as the sole criterion, and instead extending attention to all‑elderly households even if their members are under 80, while also cooperating with the Hospital Authority to identify those suffering from chronic diseases requiring ongoing care.
He stated that his bureau will work with the Hospital Authority to identify such residents and pass their information to the corresponding care teams for home visits. For cases not yet covered by the social welfare network, referrals can also be made to local NGOs for appropriate support.
(Source: RTHK)
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