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In response to increasing public demand for end-of-life care (EoLC) services in the community and to provide more choices for elderly people, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has donated HK$131 million to pioneer a three-year Jockey Club End-of-Life Community Care Project (JCECC), bringing together two universities, five NGOs and the public and private healthcare sectors in a multi-disciplinary, cross-sector collaboration.

JCECC will pilot various community-based comprehensive EoLC services, either in elderly homes or at patients’ own homes, along with staff training and public education programmes.  It aims to improve the quality of end-of-life care, enhance the capacity of service providers, and raise public awareness of this issue. In this way our senior citizens can make informed choices of care options and enjoy an improved quality of life at their last stage.

Key elements of the JCECC are:

1. Innovative EoLC service models. Five community EoLC service models will be piloted, with a special emphasis on bridging the healthcare and social care systems. These include:
   1. EoLC services in elderly homes.  The Hong Kong Association of Gerontology will set up a district-based professional support team to offer on-site support to elderly homes and provide training for front-line staff. Home-like EoLC rooms will be established in the 24 participating elderly homes.
   2. Home-based EoLC services. Professional medical care teams will be set up by the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation and the Haven of Hope Christian Service to conduct regular home visits. Both cancer and non-cancer terminally-ill patients can be cared for at home alongside their families. Other services include training for patients and their family members and a tele-medicine service.
   3. Volunteer-focused psychosocial support services. EoLC practitioners and trained volunteer teams led by St James’ Settlement and SKH. Holy Carpenter Church District Elderly Community Centre respectively will also conduct home visits, providing various services including emotional support for patients and their families.


2. Capacity building and public education.  The University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong will provide training for healthcare personnel, as well as public education programmes to raise public awareness of EoLC in the community. They will also conduct evaluations of the five service models, and the data collected will serve as a reference for policy development on EoLC in Hong Kong.

These services are expected to benefit over 1,400 terminally-ill patients and about 6,300 professional and front-line staff over the next three years.

The Trust has been a long-standing supporter of projects that address the needs of the elderly. It has taken a number of initiatives to meet the increasing demand for hospice services, and to promote positive attitudes in society towards end-of-life challenges. These include funding the construction of Haven of Hope Holistic Care Centre in Tseung Kwan O to provide medical and nursing care for the chronically ill and frail elderly; and instigating the ENABLE Project, a Trust-funded programme implemented by HKU to promote local life and death education.