“Others are free to go out, but I’m not. I’m not able to go outdoors, and I feel depressed to stay home alone. It’s been a long time since I last went out for dim sum. If I were able to walk, my children and grandchildren would bring me to a Chinese restaurant. ” 89-year-old Ms. Tong said.
Ms. Tong fell 2 years ago and needed to receive a hip operation. Since then, her legs have become too weak to walk up and down the stairs. But as she made a promise to her late husband, and she also wishes to stay in a familiar environment, she decided to continue living in a tenement flat on the 5th floor. Over the past 2 years, she only got to leave home when she was taken to and from the hospital for follow-up medical consultations with the aid of the tracked stair climber provided by the Hospital Authority.
“Many elderly people have a special emotional attachment to their living environment. Some even have been living in cubicle apartments and refuse to leave and apply for public housing just because they are emotionally attached to the community. Ms. Tong clearly understands her husband’s will – she wants to live in this tenement flat until she dies. Many elderly people living in the Central and Western District have knee problems, and old districts like this are packed with tenement buildings. Against this backdrop, stairs have been posing severe obstacles to the elderly.” Ms. Lanly Yeung, Service Manger (Continuing Care) of St James’ Settlement, said.
Currently, there are about 10,000 old buildings over 40 years old in Hong Kong, many of which are tenement buildings with no elevators at all. Due to functional deterioration, many elderly people living in tenement buildings have difficulty walking up and down the stairs and therefore choose to stay at home instead, which limits their social participation and affects their social lives. As such, St James’ Settlement has launched the “Joyful Stairway” Project and adopted stair climbers from Germany, which are capable of making turns efficiently along the narrow staircases of tenement buildings and allow the elderly to go up and down the stairs while sitting comfortably. Ms Yeung said that many elderly people have not left home for 1 to 3 years except for follow-up medical consultations. St James’ Settlement introduced the Project to them and asked them if they would like to go out when possible. They were very grateful for the service and willing to give it a try, St James’ Settlement even brought them to dim sum, which they seldom do with their families.
According to Ms Yeung, St James’ Settlement now has 2 stair climbers and only 1 operator to serve 80-odd elderly in Wan Chai and Central and Western Districts. Since the project can only entertain 4 elderly people at most every day, an elder may have to queue up for 2 months before he/she can take some fresh air. She hoped the service could be expanded with the help of financial support in future, and more volunteers and family members could be trained to use the stair climber, so as to help the elderly engage in the society.