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The Food and Health Bureau today (March 8) hosted a forum on the Care and Support for Dementia Patients to promote awareness of dementia and encourage care and support for patients and carers in the community.
The forum brought together more than 200 medical professionals, service providers from the welfare sector and government representatives to exchange their experience, expertise and insight in the latest trend of dementia and support services to patients. Mrs May Wan Kao, wife of Nobel Laureate in Physics Professor Charles K Kao, also shared her experience as a carer providing support to a dementia patient.
Addressing the forum, the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, said the Government was committed to maintaining the quality of life of dementia patients.
"We are providing various forms of medical treatments and support services to these patients through the Hospital Authority, the Department of Health, the Social Welfare Department and the non-government organisations.
"To meet the changing needs, we have launched a series of measures to strengthen the support services to dementia patients in the past few years," Dr Chow said. "These include the expansion of psychogeriatric outreach services, improvement of associated facilities in elderly homes and elderly health care centres, as well as stepping up public education and promotion of the concept of caring for the elderly."
Dr Chow pointed out that family members and carers played an important role in the nursing of dementia patients. Besides providing physical assistance, they also offered spiritual support and encouragement to the patients.
"We fully understand the stress the carers are facing in their everyday lives. We are providing support to them through various channels, hoping that a closer partnering relationship could be established," he said.
Dr Chow also took the opportunity to express his gratitude to Professor and Mrs Kao for their concern for dementia patients in Hong Kong; their earnest practice in calling for the community's awareness of the disease; as well as their generous support to the services for the patients and the carers.
During today's forum, participants exchanged views on various topics about dementia, including research findings on the global trend of dementia; diagnosis and symptomatology of the disease; treatment to patients by the Hospital Authority, services provided by the Department of Health on training and education for carers of dementia patients; the role of carers in providing support to dementia patients; and the development of day care and residential care services for dementia patients.
Ends/Monday, March 8, 2010
Issued at HKT 19:30
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