Institute of Ageing - Introduction Institute of Ageing

Introduction

Jockey Club End-of-Life Community Care Project
Kickoffceremony
Hong Kong is facing a rapidly ageing population, and the number of elderly suffering from terminal illnesses has also escalated correspondingly. In view of the growing demand for end-of-life care services in the community, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust approved HK$131 million to launch the "Jockey Club End-of-Life Community Care Project" (JCECC) in 2015. The project is a three-year initiative aimed at improving the quality of end-of-life care, enhancing the capacity of service providers, as well as raising public awareness.


JCECC is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional and cross-sectoral collaboration to help enhance end-of-life care in Hong Kong with special emphasis on the interface between social and medical systems. Five service models are being developed and piloted in the community to provide holistic support to elderly people suffered from terminal illness. The goal is to enable the city's older people to have informed choices of care and enjoy an improved quality of life.


The Trust's partners in JCECC are The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Social Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Jockey Club Institute of Ageing, Hong Kong Association of Gerontology, Haven of Hope Christian Services, The Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation, St James' Settlement, and S.K.H. Holy Carpenter Church District Elderly Community Centre.


Please visit http://www.JCECC.hk/


Capacity Building and Education Programmes on End-of-Life Care
End-of-Life (EOL) Care is a complex yet pressing issue in Hong Kong. The quality of life of the patients and their families is at stake. As most, if not all, people in Hong Kong die in hospitals, raising competence among healthcare staff in hospitals dealing with death and dying as well as education to patients, their relatives and the community at large is vital to improving the EOL care in Hong Kong. The capacity building and education programme will address key issues in EOL care in the light of medical ethics to highlight the necessity to respect the wish of patients. Mindset change will be complemented with new pathways and service model in hospitals to bring benefit to patients and their relatives. It is hoped that the programme implemented in the New Territories East cluster will serve as a useful model for other clusters to consider and adopt in future.


Project Objectives

  • To empower healthcare staff in both hospital and residential care home for elders setting in New Territories East cluster on the significance of quality EOL care
  • To build capacity for healthcare community, patients as well as their relatives and caregivers on quality EOL care including medical ethics
  • To implement quality EOL care model and practices in hospital setting


Partnership