Residential care for older people – A comparison between Hong Kong and Shanghai

Abstract

Hong Kong and Shanghai are the first two cities in China to become ageing societies. As a result of longevity, advancement in medical technology, the change in family structure and the decrease in family size, residential care has become an important service for older people, who require assistance in their daily living due to physical or cognitive impairments. This paper seeks to undertake first, a review of the policy development in the past two decades and to examine the existing service provision in residential care in the two cities. Then, the different aspects of residential care industry in the two cities are compared. Both cities are expected to experience rapid population ageing. Nonetheless, both of them have been proactive in facing this challenge by expanding and improving their residential care, and by involving the non-government sector in the provision of residential care. Hence, the marked increase in residential places in the past decade has been seen more in the non-government sector than in the publicly funded homes. The rate of increase is especially steep in Shanghai because of its much stronger commitment, enthusiasm and creativity in attracting the non-government sector. However, despite the significant increase, the number of available beds covers only 2.5% of the older population in Shanghai. In Hong Kong, the figure stands higher at 7%. However, inasmuch as 60% of these beds are provided by the profit-oriented private sector whose service quality is dubious, and a very long waiting list for publicly funded homes remains. Therefore, the challenge for Hong Kong is to improve the service quality of the private sector. In contrast, the challenge for Shanghai lies in improving the service quality as well as in increasing the quantity.