Effectiveness of policy and services in elderly care in Hong Kong

The knowledge transfer, sharing experience, support and collaboration opportunities with different stakeholders will help to focus and increase the effectiveness of the SDG 3 related to the efforts on health, wellness and ageing in the community of Hong Kong. Hong Kong's health system has been ranked as one of the most efficient in world. There are good initiatives on elderly care, like the Elderly Health Care Voucher and Vaccination Subsidy Scheme. However, the healthcare approach takes a curative approach rather than a preventative one, and this would be a barrier to achieving healthy ageing. This chapter will evaluate the effectiveness of the policy and services on the delivery of elderly care in response to the ageing population in Hong Kong, drawing on available literature and government publication as concluding remarks of SDG 3 and ageing. Policy recommendations for promoting well-being and healthy ageing are proposed in terms of (i) proactive formulation of post-COVID-19 public policy for the elderly, (ii) enhanced private sector involvement via public-private partnerships, (iii) enhanced deployment of gerontechnology in elderly care services, (iv) promotion of digital health and telemedicine, (v) strengthening of primary care workforce to relieve crises of doctor shortage, and (vi) holistic end-of-life care for the elderly. This chapter evaluates the effectiveness of the policy and services on the delivery of elderly care in response to the ageing population in Hong Kong, drawing on available literature and government publication as concluding remarks of Sustainable Development Goal 3 and ageing. It proposes policy recommendations for promoting healthy ageing and well-being for the elderly in Hong Kong. Policy recommendations for promoting well-being and healthy ageing are proposed in terms of proactive formulation of post-COVID-19 public policy for the elderly, enhanced deployment of gerontechnology in elderly care services, strengthening of primary care workforce to relieve crises of doctor shortage, and holistic end-of-life care for the elderly. Gerontechnology are innovations and technologies tailor-made to the personal needs of older persons to compensate for cognitive and physical decline due to ageing. In the Hong Kong context, telemedicine has been tried by the public system years ago and is provided by a few private or non-governmental organ-isations.