When an older person suddenly becomes ill in a residential care home or needs to be sent to hospital, the Code of Practice for Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) (Cap. 459A, June 2024 revised edition) sets requirements for the following steps:
- When a resident is ill, injured or has a change in health condition, the home must immediately assess their health and arrange medical treatment or seek advice from healthcare personnel (section 12.2.5).
- The home must draw up operational guidelines for handling emergencies in advance, including immediate handling procedures and an emergency contact telephone list, so as to deal with emergencies (section 12.2.6).
- The home must immediately notify family members, the guardian or emergency contacts, and record the situation in the Personal Health and Nursing Care Record (section 12.2.5).
- If a resident needs to be escorted or accompanied to a hospital or clinic, the home must arrange suitable staff to accompany the resident according to its operational guidelines, and should encourage family members to take part in the escort arrangement (section 12.10).
- After an accident, the home must take immediate remedial action and make records as soon as possible (section 8.7.2, Accident Records).
- For special incidents, such as serious injury or unusual death of a resident, the home must notify the Licensing Office of Residential Care Homes for the Elderly (LORCHE) as soon as possible and submit a Special Incident Report within 3 calendar days after the incident (section 8.7.2, Special Incident Report).
To keep the notification process smooth, pay attention to two points:
- The admission agreement should state the emergency contacts and notification procedures.
- At admission, confirm that the home has accurate contact details. If a contact person's phone number changes later, update the home promptly.
Learn more -> Before admission, read the emergency notification clauses in the admission agreement carefully and confirm that the procedures are clear.