Shortage of Nursing Homes in Hong Kong
by Twinkle, Mak Hoi Ching (6C)

Dear sir/ madam,

“Ageing population” is a pervasive, profound and enduring tide sweeping across the globe. Hong Kong is no exception. The ageing trend is becoming a major concern in Hong Kong. It leads to a serious problem which is the shortage of nursing homes. So, I want to express my concern regarding the issue.

First of all, there is a lack of care for the unattended elderly because many of them are living alone without relatives or family members. Also, they cannot afford to take care of themselves. For elderly who suffer from dementia, as their condition worsens, they need more help with daily activities such as washing and bathing themselves. If the elderly can live in nursing homes, the staff can take care of them professionally. Therefore, they need nursing homes and care from others. However, there are not enough resources for them so the government should consider ways of helping them.

In addition, there is insufficient space to settle the elderly people in need because most of them are retired with no income and cannot afford an apartment for their retirement. Their pension may not be big enough for them to live on comfortably and they cannot enjoy their retirement. Consequently, it will influence their physiological and psychological health. There is a lack of nursing homes for them.

In order to solve the problems, I have three suggestions. Firstly, I recommend that the Hong Kong government prioritize building new nursing homes as soon as possible because it can solve the problem of a shortage of nursing homes directly.

Secondly, we should encourage families to take care of their older family members because many people leave their parents when they become adults and start a new family; thus, the elderly are often neglected. The government can promote it by advertising on television or social networking sites to raise public awareness.

Finally, the government can establish an organization to investigate the problem of the shortage of nursing homes. This organization can provide funds to help some elderly people who do not have a place to live.

I genuinely hope my recommendations are useful to solve this problem.

Yours faithfully,
Twinkle Mak
Twinkle Mak