Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long has said that the government is aiming to open a health facility in its high-rise rental residential building for senior citizens on Plot P in Areia Preta district before the end of this year, primarily providing seniors living there with health consultation and education with the aim of encouraging them to stay in good health.
The health chief underlined that the health facility will not provide medical treatment, i.e., unlike a public health centre, as there is already a public health centre in the same neighbourhood – the Areia Preta Health Centre located next to the western part of Areia Preta Park.
Dr Lo made the remarks while speaking to reporters on Friday on the sidelines of a public event at the private Kiang Wu Hospital.
The government’s programme on the Plot P seniors’ rental residential estate, which includes various facilities on its podium, is carried out by the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS), which started the process on Monday last week for successful applicants to choose their flats there. The bureau said last week that the first group of tenants can expect to move into their flats in October at the earliest.
The high-rise has a total of 1,815 studio-style units. The tenants of the first 1,518 flats will enjoy a 20-percent discount on their rent during their first three-year lease. With the 20-percent discount, the rent will range between 4,328 patacas and 5,344 patacas a month.
The housing estate has four podium levels from the ground to third floors. The ground floor will be used for the operation of four shops, one of which will be a supermarket, while the first floor will be used for dining facilities comprising a Chinese restaurant, a “cha chaan teng” (traditional Hong Kong and Macau-style café), and a buffet area.
The podium’s second floor will be used for a clubhouse, while the third floor will be used for an outdoor podium garden and indoor sport facilities.
The housing estate’s podium will also have a health facility to be run by the Health Bureau, but the government has not specified on which floor it will be located.
Decoration ‘in early stage’
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Dr Lo said that his bureau was currently working with the Social Welfare Bureau to set up a health facility in the Plot P seniors’ rental residential estate.
Asked if the health facility can open in October when the first batch of tenants is slated to move into their flats, Dr Lo said that the facility’s decoration currently being carried out was still “in its early stage”, adding that the government was now aiming to open it before the end of this year.
The Social Welfare Bureau said last Monday that the estate’s podium facilities such as the clubhouse and “cha chaan teng” can open when the first batch of tenants is slated to move into their flats in October, but the Chinese restaurant and buffet can only open some time afterwards.
In general, permanent local residents aged 65 or over capable of taking care of themselves are eligible to apply for a flat there.
Dr Lo said on Friday that the health facility in the Plot P seniors’ rental residential estate will be set up and operated in a way that meets the health conditions of the elderly living there, adding that the facility primarily aims to improve their health conditions.
Health advice, not another public health centre
Pointing out that seniors living there have a relatively high capacity to take care of themselves, Dr Lo said that the health facility will place special emphasis on providing them with health consultation and education.
Dr Lo said that the facility’s health professionals will give seniors advice on health topics such as their diet, sleep and exercise with the aim of enabling them to gain a better understanding of how to stay in good health.
Dr Lo noted that there is already a public health centre near the Plot P seniors’ rental residential estate, because of which the estate’s health facility will not provide medical treatment, he stressed, underlining that the setting-up of a facility providing medical treatment in the estate would not be in line with the efficient use of public health resources.
This undated handout downloaded from the Social Welfare Bureau’s (IAS) website yesterday shows a twin-bed studio flat in the Plot P seniors’ rental residential building.
