Community geriatric assessment services was established in 1994 by HA to better serve elderly from residential care
homes of the elderly (RCHE), who are high volume users of HA services. CGAS vision of seamless care was to provide timely geriatric management together with social sector partners to enhance care quality in the community. Service scope started with outreach geriatric specialist clinics and nurse-led care improvement initiatives, rehabilitation and assessment for central infirmary waiting list. Following SARS in 2003, expert recommendations endorsed by government led to the CGAS VMO scheme aimed to reduce infectious outbreaks in RCHEs and to curb surges in hospitalization.
Present CGAS services have evolved with enriched partnerships to include end of life care for RCHE residents, pharmacist-led medication reconciliation and integrated nursing model with community nursing services.
The future of CGAS contemplates our service model to meet rising demand arising from increasing RCHE places with increased care complexity expected to parallel ageing demographics in Hong Kong. New enhanced CGAS service models, especially in mega-homes will reduce demand for hospital beds. On-site end of life care and rehabilitation should be standards in care with structured medical social partnerships and quality monitoring. In addition, the wise use of IT, big data and telemedicine add to exciting prospects. To navigate future challenges, CGAS teams can learn from 25 years of lessons in teamwork, compassionate care and innovation.
Co-location with:
