The Elderly Health Service was established in 1998. We provide primary health care for the elderly people, improve their self-care ability, encourage the adoption of healthy lifestyle, strengthen family support and provide training to carers to take care of older people and minimize illness and disability in elders.

Services include:

Public Health and Administration

To systematically collect and analyze information on the health status of the elderly population in Hong Kong so as to provide timely health intervention programmes.

Elderly Health Centres

Elderly Health Centres provide clinical services of health assessment, physical check up, curative treatment and counseling to the elderly clients. Nurses in the centre participate actively in carrying out the above functions and organize health promotion and disease prevention activities.

Visiting Health Teams

Visiting Health Teams reach out into the community and residential care settings through running onsite wellness programmes to increase the health awareness and self-care ability of the elderly clients. Using the train-the-trainer approach, nurses of the Visiting Health Teams conduct training programmes for carers in residential care home for the elderly (RCHE), aiming at enhancing their knowledge and skills in taking care of the residents. They work closely with the stakeholders to improve the quality of care in RCHE.  The teams also carry out annual Influenza vaccination for high-risk groups.  

Roles of public health nurses in the Service

l              Be an active member of the primary health care team to promote elderly health through implementing health education and promotion activities for the elderly and their caregivers.

l              Disseminate information on elderly health through broadcasting health messages via mass media, production of health education materials, manning hotline and website for public access.

l              Plan and implement the Government Influenza Vaccination Programme for the elderly residents and caregivers in the RCHEs.

l              Collaborate with various stakeholders such as the Social Welfare Department and non-government organizations to further promote health education and disease prevention for the elderly population.  

l              Maintain service improvement and development in strengthening the community action for promoting wellness among the elderly population.

l              Conduct research on the promotion of health and prevention of illness in the elderly population.

The important core competencies required for nurses in the Service

The following 3 'C'  core competencies are essential for nurses to perform their roles effectively in the Elderly Health Service setting:

1.           Commitment

Strong commitment to building service capacity.

2.           Competency

Broad professional knowledge and skills in enhancing the quality of care for the elderly.

3.           Communication

Good interpersonal and communication skills in dealing with different counterparts.

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