The Social Welfare Department (SWD) today (March 1) announced that with effect from March 2021, the Community Care Fund assistance programme of the Pilot Scheme on Providing Special Subsidy for Persons with Permanent Stoma from Low-income Families for Purchasing Medical Consumables has been regularised and renamed as the Special Subsidy Scheme for Persons with Permanent Stoma to provide a continuous subsidy for the eligible persons in need to relieve their financial burdens.
      
     An eligible applicant must be a person with permanent stoma (excretory stoma) as assessed by a recognised specialist of the medical and health profession, not being a recipient of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, passing the financial assessment on household income and asset limits, and without receiving any relevant subsidy for purchasing medical consumables for the stoma from other funding sources in the past one year. The rate of subsidy an applicant is eligible for is based on the SWD's assessment on the applicant's monthly household income. The maximum subsidy level is capped at $1,000 per month.
      
     The SWD has invited eligible beneficiaries of the existing Pilot Scheme to apply for the Special Subsidy Scheme. In addition, the Special Subsidy Scheme is also open for new applications. Applicants may send the completed application form, together with supporting documents, to the Rehabilitation and Medical Social Services Branch of the SWD (in person or by post to the Rehabilitation and Medical Social Services Branch (Oi Kwan Road Office), Room 118, 1/F, Lady Trench Training Centre, 44 Oi Kwan Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong). 
      
     For details of the Special Subsidy Scheme, including the programme brief, eligibility criteria and relevant household income and asset limits, please refer to the website of the SWD (www.swd.gov.hk) or click here. Application forms can also be downloaded here.
      
     For enquiries, please contact the Rehabilitation and Medical Social Services Branch of the SWD during office hours (Tel: 3468 2756; fax: 2151 0434; email: acorm5@swd.gov.hk).

Ends/Monday, March 1, 2021
Issued at HKT 11:40

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