Care Teams Go The Extra Mile

As announced in the 2022 Policy Address, District Services & Community Care Teams will be set up in all 18 districts of Hong Kong to support the Government’s district work and strengthen its community network.

Care teams in both the Southern and Tsuen Wan districts were the first to start after being launched a month ago.

Care team members from the Southern District are being taught life-saving techniques from the Fire Services Department, learning how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use automated external defibrillators with the goal of providing assistance and saving lives in emergency situations.

At the same time, some care team volunteers from the Southern District are learning other specialised skills, all with the goal of providing better services to those in need.

Southern District Services & Community Care Teams Ap Lei Chau North sub-district volunteer Dorothy Lau pointed out that in order to help the elderly to install handrails inside their bathrooms, she learnt how to use a drill that enables her to drive screws into concrete walls.

Some other care team members are charged with organising activities to promote family harmony. For instance, care team members from the Tsuen Wan District arrange photographers to take family portraits for residents in their sub-districts free of charge.

The care team members spare no effort to help residents in need when emergencies strike.

As a prime example, a fire broke out in a unit in the Lei Muk Shue Estate several days ago. Care team members from the Tsuen Wan District immediately notified nearby residents to be vigilant and later assisted in cleaning up the affected unit.

Additionally, when the water supply was suspended due to the replacement of water pipes in the Ap Lei Chau Estate, care team members from the Southern District delivered water to residents in need.

Southern District Officer Francis Cheng, being the commander of all care teams in his district, said care team members not only solve problems for residents, but also strengthen community cohesion.

“The care teams can play a very good role in connecting the Government and the people, especially those in need. They know the community well. They know the residents. They have been in regular contact with the residents to better care for them. Therefore, they can help to bring very useful information to them and also help them to apply for various services when needed.”

As the commander of the care teams in his district, Tsuen Wan District Officer Billy Au emphasised that such teams can play a role as a facilitator in the community.

“They can enhance the connection among different groups of residents in the sub-district and facilitate the communication between the residents of the sub-district and government departments, with a view to improving district governance.”

Apart from explaining that the main duties of the care teams include supporting the Government’s district work, strengthening the community network, organising caring activities and assisting in handling emergency incidents, Mr Au revealed that they also help to disseminate information to the public and reflect the views of the public to the Government.

While the Southern and Tsuen Wan District Services & Community Care Teams have already been launched, it is expected that care teams in the remaining 16 districts will gradually be set up in the third quarter of this year.

These supportive teams mainly provide district-based services according to the needs of their sub-districts.

The 18 districts will be delineated into 452 sub-districts, with one care team set up in each sub-district.