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The following is issued on behalf of the Community Care Fund Secretariat:
The Community Care Fund (CCF) Elderly Dental Assistance Programme was officially rolled out with the assistance of the Hong Kong Dental Association (HKDA) today (September 24). Under the Programme, eligible elderly people will be referred to the participating dentists for dentures and other necessary dental services.
The Steering Committee on the CCF has set aside $100 million for the Programme, which is expected to run for about two years, benefiting about 10 300 elderly people. Each beneficiary can receive a maximum subsidy of up to $9,240.
The Programme beneficiaries must be aged 60 or above and not be recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance. They should be low-income users of Integrated Home Care Services (IHCS) or Enhanced Home and Community Care Services (EHCCS) subvented by the Social Welfare Department as at December 31, 2011, and paying the Level 1 or Level 2 fee charge of the above two home-based services when applying for the Programme subsidy. They should have lost all or some of their teeth or should be suffering from dental illness and encountering difficulties in eating or chewing, and should be willing to accept the subsidised services for dentures or other necessary dental services and treatment provided under the Programme. They should also be preliminarily assessed as requiring and being suitable for dentures or other necessary dental services.
Applications must be made on a referral basis by service teams of IHCS and EHCCS participating in the Programme. The service teams will conduct initial screening for interested applicants based on the preliminary assessment guidelines drawn up by the HKDA, and refer the eligible elderly people to the participating dentists for the necessary dental services, and provide accompanying service as necessary.
So far, a total of 222 dentists and 37 dental clinics operated by non-governmental organisations have already registered to participate in the Programme to provide dentures or other necessary dental services.
Eligible elderly people can contact the respective service teams for more details about the application procedures. For enquiries, please call the Programme hotline at 2525 8198.
Further information on the eligibility criteria and application procedures is also available at the CCF website (www.communitycarefund.hk) and the HKDA website (www.hkda.org).
Ends/Monday, September 24, 2012
Issued at HKT 15:17
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