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Recommendation 1.3A: Build Guangdong that allows elderly on the Central Waiting List (CWL)
to live in residential care homes operated by two Hong Kong
on existing initiatives to pioneer
NGOs in Guangdong (SWD Residential Care Services Scheme in
gerontech-specific collaboration Guangdong, 2021) (Figure 12). 19
within the GBA
Yet, many Hong Kong people remain hesitant to relocate to
the GBA. According to an OHKF-conducted survey, 62% of
Across the board, there is a consensus that Hong Kong-based
respondents cite access to Hong Kong or Hong Kong-like
gerontech suppliers desire, but struggle with knowing how
healthcare and welfare services as the major obstacle for moving
to expand into the emerging GBA market. On the one hand,
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to the GBA (OHKF, 2021). Therefore, to support Hong Kong
the GBA presents a huge market opportunity, contributing about
people who want to move to the GBA, we need to increase the
USD 1.7 trillion to China’s GDP in 2020, constituting 12% of
amount of cross-border provision of Hong Kong-like healthcare
China’s GDP; the GBA is also home to 86 million citizens, of
and welfare services in the GBA.
which 10 million are aged ≥ 65 (Constitutional and Mainland
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Affairs Bureau, 2021; HKTDC, 2020). On the other hand, there
An innovative initiative in this area is the “Hong Kong Medicine
are many challenges resulting from cultural, operational, and
Link” (港藥通), which enables designated healthcare institutions
technical differences between the GBA and Hong Kong. For
in the GBA, such as the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen
example, there are different regulatory and product requirements.
Hospital, to use drugs listed and medical devices utilised in
Elders and PwDs may also have different purchasing patterns
Hong Kong for urgent clinical purposes (Figure 12) (National
and product preferences.
Medical Products Administration, 2020). One of the gaps that our
survey indicated has worsened is “exhausting medical device
But the GBA is not only important to Hong Kong for economic
registration process” (Gap 11; score -0.23). This problem is
purposes; the GBA also contains social value as a place
further exacerbated because Hong Kong and mainland China
where Hong Kong elderly can relocate and retire. To this
have different medical device registration processes.
extent, SWD has launched a Residential Care Services Scheme in
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Percentage calculated based on China’s national GDP, which is 14.7 trillion (World Bank, 2021).
19 The two existing residential homes are Hong Kong Jockey Club Helping Hand Zhaoqing Home for the Elderly and Hong Kong Jockey Club Shenzhen Society for Rehabilitation Yee
Hong Heights (SWD Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong, 2021). The Government has also indicated that they will explore extending this scheme to cover other
eligible RCHEs in Mainland cities of the GBA (LegCo Policy Address, 2021, October 6).
20 To better understand how Hongkongers perceive and evaluate opportunities in the GBA, OHKF commissioned the Public Governance Programme at Lingnan University to conduct
a telephone survey. 1,012 Hong Kong permanent residents (aged ≥ 18) were interviewed by a randomised telephone survey in late April 2021. In addition, OHKF commissioned an
external organisation to conduct 12 focus groups in May 2021, comprising of a total of 82 participants aged 18 to 40 (OHKF, 2021).
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