Enhancing Mental Health Services in Residential Care Homes for the Elderly in Hong Kong: The Experience of the Mental Health Programme in Australia

Elderly care services are in high demand. This is a problem that the whole world is facing. Hong Kong’s culture is based on Confucianism, which emphasises the importance of family and filial piety. Therefore, it is reasonable for elderly people to be cared for by their family members. However, due to an ageing population and a declining birth rate, the responsibility for caring for the elderly will not only fall to family members, but also to the government and non-governmental organisations, e.g. residential care services. Improving the quality of residential care services is a constant concern. How can the well-being of elderly people in residential care be enhanced? This paper draws on Australia’s experience of collaborating with universities to provide psychological counselling services for the elderly in residential care homes. The different stakeholders, including residential care homes, universities and the government, are considered. This is a review article and the aim of this paper is to improve the mental health of elderly people in residential care homes; and to provide clinical placement opportunities to improve access to mental health services for residents, as well as to increase students’ exposure to the skills required in this unique setting. This will help to educate the next generation of aged care mental health clinicians.