The secretary for labour and welfare has pledged to review in due course a compassionate arrangement that attaches one social worker to each household of fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court, while acknowledging the officers' increased workload.

In an exclusive interview with RTHK, Chris Sun said it was the right call to mobilise all of the government's 2,000 or so social workers following the disaster in November, as the affected residents deserved maximum support possible.

His comments followed concerns regarding the workload of some social work officers.

Sun described the scale of the operation as unprecedented, but noted such a household-matching policy had been used before in cases affecting a smaller amount of people.

"You can say they've provided one-on-one matching for professional services... that included matters that the residents care about, but are unrelated to social welfare," he said.

"We will rationally review everything once things settle down. But at this point, we feel that within such a short time span, we made the right, decisive call to adopt the 'one social worker per household' policy."

The minister noted the social workers have been dealing with issues they're not familiar with, such as re-housing and helping residents apply for grants and subsidies.

Sun said the Social Welfare Department has implemented measures to assist the officers, such as streamlining their travel expense claims and offering flexible holiday arrangements.

But, he added, public recognition would go a long way in providing them emotional support.

"I think our Social Welfare Department colleagues are worthy of everyone's support, a thumbs-up. They demonstrated a tremendous [will to] shoulder responsibility as they have a great sense of mission," he said.

"When Hong Kong faces such enormous difficulties, as they are social workers, you may say that they're duty-bound. But you also have to be considerate about their heavy workload, it's really not easy."

Sun said he expects their burden to gradually ease off once a long-term housing plan is finalised for Wang Fuk Court residents.

That said, those who have lost their loved ones in the fire will continue to receive social welfare support, the minister added.

On a separate note, the minister said officials are looking to kick start a trial scheme this year aimed at boosting support for elderly carers, as well as senior citizens living on their own.

The scheme would involve installing fall sensor systems at their homes, with authorities to be alerted when potential danger is detected. No visuals will be recorded to ensure the users' privacy.



Edited by Cecil Wong