Senior Citizen Home Safety Association (“SCHSA”) and Social Welfare Department (“SWD”) signed an agreement on the Subsidy Scheme for Provision of Emergency Call System Service (“Subsidy Scheme”) with effective implementation starting on 1 April 2024.

Under the “District Services and Community Care Teams (“Care Teams”) – Pilot Scheme on Supporting Elderly and Carers” (“the Pilot Scheme”) launched by the Government in late March 2024, the Care Teams are engaged to identify households of singleton/doubleton elderly, carers of elderly and persons with disabilities.  Care Teams will refer cases with needs to social welfare service units for follow up.  Furthermore, they will also refer eligible individuals to SCHSA for the installation and provision of the emergency call system service, subsidised by SWD, so that they can receive more comprehensive support and care.

Starting from 1 April 2024, SCHSA officially began to accept referrals from the 36 Care Teams of the Tsuen Wan and Southern districts.  SCHSA will provide eligible elderly and persons with disabilities with the emergency call system service under the Subsidy Scheme of the Pilot Scheme. To be eligible, households must meet the following three requirements:

1. Belonging to one of the following categories:

-              singleton elderly person aged 65 or above; or

-              all members being elderly persons aged 65 or above; or

-              all members being elderly persons aged 65 or above, and/or persons with disabilities; or

-              singleton person with disability below 65;

2. Not meeting the eligibility criteria for the existing financial allowance for the emergency call system service; and

3. Meeting the income criterion, including (a) currently receiving the Old Age Living Allowance (“OALA”) under the Social Security Allowance Scheme; or (b) having income not exceeding the specified limit.

If the applicant meets the eligibility criteria for other existing emergency call system service allowance schemes (including allowance provided by the SWD for CSSA recipients and subsidy programmes offered by Hong Kong Housing Authority/Hong Kong Housing Society), SCHSA will also assist them to apply for the relevant allowance to use SCHSA’s Care-on-Call service.

Ms. Maura Wong, Chief Executive Officer of SCHSA, said: “We are most honoured to be selected by the Government as the service provider for the emergency call system service under the Pilot Scheme and shall do our best to deliver high quality service.  SCHSA collaborates closely with SWD and the Care Teams to offer high quality emergency call system service to the elderly and persons with disabilities who need extra support.  We will provide our Care-on-Call Wireless Personal Emergency Link device and a remote SOS button to eligible beneficiaries, giving them 24/7 emergency support so that they can get immediate assistance in case of any health issues.

SCHSA will also provide emotional support to beneficiaries under the Subsidy Scheme, help them with daily life challenges, including providing information on community resource and referrals. Having this service is really like having a safety net for the singleton/doubleton elderly households as well as persons with disabilities. Through this Subsidy Scheme, SCHSA hopes more vulnerable elderly and persons with disabilities, as well as their carers, can get enhanced support and care in the community.” Ms. Wong believes that the introduction of the Pilot Scheme by the Government highlights its ongoing commitment to address the needs of singleton and doubleton elderly and persons with disabilities, making it a meaningful new initiative.

The Subsidy Scheme is currently open for applications from individuals referred by the Tsuen Wan and Southern District Care Teams, with a target to reach 1,000 beneficiaries within the next 12 months.