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1. According to a population projection by the Census and Statistics Department in 2004, the population in Hong Kong will be on an ageing trend, with the elderly population (aged 65 and above) projected to rise from 11.7 per cent in 2003 to 27.0 per cent in 2033. The life expectancy at birth is 78.6 years and 84.3 years for males and females respectively, and is projected to rise to 82.5 years for males and 88 years for females by 2033. This translates to a disproportionately large elderly population made up mostly of females with a high elderly dependency ratio.
2. With a mushrooming elderly population comes the demand for social and healthcare services.
3. Apart from the financial implications of an ageing society, there are practical considerations, such as availability of community support, demand on social services and healthcare services, quality and availability of family and community caregivers, quality and availability of residential homes, and so on. There will be considerable drain on public resources; demand for services, both social and medical, will strain the system. Hong Kong will be faced imminently with substantial challenges to ensure the growing number of elderly citizens will feel secure and dignified as they enter this phase of their lives.
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The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has approved HK$ 380 million for the five-year project entitled "CADENZA: A Jockey Club Initiative for Seniors". In classical music, a 'cadenza' is an extended virtuosic section, usually near the end of a movement in a concerto. The word is used here in a figurative context to describe the apex of one's life and the celebration of a lifetime's accomplishments. Here CADENZA stands for:
The purpose of the project is to revolutionise the way society views its elders, the current mode of care for the elderly, existing services and facilities, and the excessive reliance on the medical model of care. The attitude and mindset of the general public have to be changed. The objectives of the project are summarised below:
•to train different levels of professionals and front-line workers involved in elderly work, not only in terms of skills, but also in the way they view and treat the people they serve;
•to look at the elderly trend as "social growth" rather than a "social problem";
•to encourage and promote inter-generational accommodation and understanding;
•to devise new services in response to changing needs;
•to plan for a generation of soon-to-be-old whilst enhancing skills and services for the existing elderly population; and
•to cultivate and nurture academic leadership in gerontology so as to bolster the standard and image of the profession of dealing with the aged and all ageing-related services
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