Where do you get a dementia assessment in Hong Kong? Official prevalence, assessment, community support and fees

Last updated: 2026-09-13

The August 2025 issue of Non-Communicable Diseases Watch, published by the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health, reports that, according to the Hong Kong Mental Morbidity Survey for Older People conducted from 2019 to 2023, 9.7% of older adults aged 60 or above had dementia after adjusting for age and gender, and that the adjusted prevalence in the 85 or above age group was 49.8%. The same publication prints the full age ladder: 1.1% at 60-64, 2.5% at 65-69, 4.6% at 70-74, 9.0% at 75-79, 22.8% at 80-84 and 49.8% at 85 or above, the population for that table being elders aged 60 or above living in the community and residential care homes taken together. In a written reply to the Legislative Council on 22 April 2026, the Secretary for Health stated that "The HA does not maintain statistics on waiting time for patients with dementia referred from Family Medicine Clinics to various SOP clinics", so this article has no official figure for how long a dementia assessment takes to obtain. The $550 (Monday to Friday) / $680 (Saturdays) published on the Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association's Memory Clinic page is the fee for assessment by a registered nurse or occupational therapist; the same page prints no amount under "Fee" for the specialist doctor's diagnosis. ⚠️ The claim that "one in three people over 85 has it" does not match this official figure — the Centre for Health Protection's own table gives 49.8%, which is close to one in two. As for "one in ten elders aged 60 or above", the publication does indeed print that, and it is consistent with the 9.7%.

Early assessment: the Department of Health's Elderly Health Service gives a clear instruction: "Seek early medical advice and treatment if there is suspicion of dementia." A list of warning signs is not a diagnostic tool; this article sets out assessment and support services and cannot assess any individual condition.

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#What sort of disease is dementia?

The Department of Health's Elderly Health Service page defines it as a disease of decline in brain function due to neurological pathology, and not as ageing itself. The text of that page:

Dementia is a disease of decline in brain function due to neurological pathology. Patient's memory, comprehension, language, learning capacity, calculation and judgement would be affected. Some also present with emotional, behavioural or sensory problems.

The account in the August 2025 issue of the Centre for Health Protection's Non-Communicable Diseases Watch is fuller:

Dementia is a chronic and progressive syndrome characterised by a deterioration in cognitive function, such as the ability to remember, think and reason, which impairs daily life. Although consciousness is not affected, the decline in cognitive function is commonly accompanied with emotional, behavioural or motivational changes (Box 1)1, 2.

That this disease and "getting old naturally" are two different things is the Centre for Health Protection's own statement. The key messages of the same publication state: "Dementia is not a normal part of ageing. Although it is much more common in older people, young people can also develop dementia due to brain injury, genetic and other factors." Page 4 separately states: "Advancing age is the strongest non-modifiable risk factor. However, dementia is not a natural or inevitable consequence of ageing."

⚠️ Not one of the 24 items listed at the end of this article under "Hong Kong background and service material" defines "mild cognitive impairment" (MCI), and none prints the boundary between it and dementia, or any assessment score cut-off. Where the term "mild cognitive impairment" appears in the figures quoted below, it is the wording of the body being quoted; this article quotes it as printed and does not supply definitions on their behalf.

Who most needs to know: family members with an older person at home who is becoming forgetful, and who do not know whether this is "normal for an older person" or a disease.

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#What is actually happening in the brain? How does the condition progress?

A description of the pathology of Alzheimer's disease does not mean that every dementia has the same cause. The Centre for Health Protection first distinguishes the types, then describes the protein deposits of Alzheimer's disease. The text:

There are many forms of dementia with different causes. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form and contributes to 60%–70% of dementia cases1. It involves the gradual degeneration and death of brain cells due to abnormal deposits of specific proteins (amyloid and tau) throughout the brain3. Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia. It is associated with reduced blood flow in the brain3.

⚠️ The Centre for Health Protection's own reference list attributes that "60%–70%" to the World Health Organization's Dementia fact sheet of 31 March 2025 — that is, a global figure, not a Hong Kong figure.

The Department of Health's Elderly Health Service has a separate set of proportions that are stated to be for Hong Kong elderly cases; it is a different source and a different set of figures, and the two must not be run together. The text of that page:

Alzheimer's Disease: Most common cause of dementia. Accounted for nearly 65% of dementia in Hong Kong Chinese elderly
Vascular Dementia: 2nd common cause of dementia. Accounted for around 30% of dementia in Hong Kong Chinese elderly
Others (Parkinson's disease dementia, Hypothyroidism, Vitamin B12 deficiency etc.)

⚠️ That page does not state which study the 65% / 30% comes from. This site quotes it only as that page writes it, does not supply a source on its behalf, and does not merge it with, or treat it as corroborating, the World Health Organization's 60%–70% above.

On how the condition progresses, the Elderly Health Service page sets out three stages. The text:

Early stage - Become forgetful, especially regarding things that just happened, have difficulty carrying out complex household tasks, may show mood changes including depression and anxiety.
Middle stage – Become more forgetful, especially of recent events and people's name, unable to live alone safely without considerable support. Behaviour changes may include wandering, repeated questioning etc.
Late stage - Cannot recognise relatives, may become double incontinent and there may be behaviour changes including aggression towards carer and agitation.

⚠️ The Secretary for Health's written reply to the Legislative Council of 22 April 2026 states: "At present, there is no cure for dementia. With the help of medication and non-pharmacological interventions (such as reminiscence therapy, multisensory and cognitive training), the degenerative process of the brain can be slowed down and the symptoms can be alleviated." The Centre for Health Protection's sentence to the same effect is: "Even though contemporary medicine cannot yet cure dementia or reverse its progression, appropriate treatment can help slow down the progression of cognitive decline. Nonetheless, prevention is of the utmost importance."

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#How many older people in Hong Kong have it?

The Centre for Health Protection prints a prevalence ladder by age group, which is more use than any one-sentence summary. The table is headed "Table 1: Prevalence (weighted*) of dementia among elders aged 60 or above living in the community and residential care homes by age group", with the note "*Sample weighting was performed according to the key characteristics of Hong Kong population (age and gender)" and the source given as the Hong Kong Mental Morbidity Survey for Older People.

The text of the local situation section of that publication:

In Hong Kong, cognitive morbidity in the older community is common. According to the Hong Kong Mental Morbidity Survey for Older People conducted from 2019 to 2023, 9.7% of older adults aged 60 or above had dementia after adjusting for age and gender. The weighted prevalence of dementia in the community and residential care homes for elderly was 7.4% and 68.8%, respectively. As shown in Table 1, weighted prevalence increased with age from 1.1% in the 60–64 age group to 49.8% in the 85 or above age group10.

In other words: the community and residential care homes have to be read separately. Within the same survey and the same publication, those living in the community are at 7.4% and those in residential care homes at 68.8%; the two figures cannot substitute for one another, and neither can be treated as "the prevalence among older people in Hong Kong".

⚠️ The claim that "one in three people over 85 has it" does not match this Centre for Health Protection table — the table gives 49.8%. As for "one in ten elders aged 60 or above", the publication's key messages do print it: "In Hong Kong, about one in ten elders aged 60 or above is living with dementia", which is consistent with the 9.7% total in Table 1.

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#Why are there three different official versions of the figures?

Because three official or original sources each report the same survey on a different base and with a different sample size, and the three documents quoted do not explain how the versions convert into one another. This site will not combine them into a single figure, and lists them one by one instead.

⚠️ Note two things. First, the "one-fifth" in the CUHK press release refers to mild cognitive impairment among elders living in the community, whereas the Secretary's 20.9% refers to community and residential care homes taken together; the two sentences are not the same statement. Second, the sample sizes in the two sources are 4,368 plus 503 (CUHK's own breakdown) and 4 500 (the Secretary's reply), and this article has no source that explains how the two reconcile, so this site lists both as printed, takes neither in preference, and does not add them up or harmonise them itself.

The Secretary's reply also sets out who commissioned the survey and its start and end dates. The text:

Following a recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Mental Health (ACMH), the former Food and Health Bureau commissioned the Chinese University of Hong Kong to conduct a survey of older people aged 60 or above. The Elderly Mental Health Survey commenced in January 2019, was completed in May 2023, and the findings were published in November of the same year.

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#How many deaths from dementia are there in Hong Kong?

The Centre for Health Protection's "Number of registered deaths by leading cause of death, 2001 - 2025" shows 1 434 registered deaths from dementia in 2025 (provisional figures), seventh among the leading causes of death in that table when ordered by 2025. The table is headed "Number of registered deaths by leading cause of death (based on ICD 10th Revision) : 2001 - 2025", with the subtitle "(Ranking according to the number of registered deaths in 2025)".

These figures are not a straight line upwards. Taking only the years listed in the table above: the 1 364 for 2024 is lower than the 1 498 for 2021, the 1 572 for 2022 and the 1 537 for 2023; the provisional figure of 1 434 for 2025 is higher than 2024 but still lower than each of 2021 to 2023. This article makes no statement that recent years show a "continuing rise" or a "continuing fall".

⚠️ The text of that table's note: "# Provisional figures." The symbol is printed on the column heading for 2025, not on 2024. The notes also state: "The figures are based on deaths registered under the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Cap. 174, Laws of Hong Kong) during the specified period."

Doing the arithmetic (this site's own arithmetic on the figures in the table above, not a conclusion printed by that table): 252 in 2001 against the provisional 1 434 in 2025 is about 5.7 times. The Centre for Health Protection uses a different pair of endpoints. The text of Non-Communicable Diseases Watch: "In the past 20 years, the number of registered deaths due to dementia in Hong Kong has increased from 276 in 2004 to 1 364 in 2024, representing an almost five-fold increase. In 2024, dementia was the seventh leading cause of death. Of 1 364 registered deaths, over 99% were elders aged 65 and above (provisional figures)11,."

⚠️ The Centre for Health Protection itself marks that "over 99% were elders aged 65 and above" as provisional figures at the end of the sentence, and this site marks it the same way.

⚠️ This article does not say in which year dementia entered Hong Kong's ten leading causes of death. The cause-of-death table above is ranked on a single year, 2025, and prints no ranking for any earlier year; nor do the other official pages quoted in this article ever print that year.

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#What are the ten warning signs?

The Department of Health's Elderly Health Service page prints these ten in words. The text, in that page's own order:

10 warning signs of dementia
Recent memory loss that disrupt daily life
Challenges in planning or solving problems
Difficulty completing familiar tasks
Confusion with time and place
Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
New Problems with words in speaking or writing
Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
Impaired judgement
Withdrawal from work or social activities
Change in mood and personality

⚠️ The same list appears in Box 1 of the August 2025 issue of the Centre for Health Protection's Non-Communicable Diseases Watch, where the wording of the items differs: that box prints them as short captions — "memory loss", "planning or solving challenges", "trouble with familiar tasks", "confusion with time and place", "trouble with visual image and space", "problem with speaking or writing", "misplacing belongings", "impaired judgement", "withdrawal from work or social activities", "change in mood and personality". This site lists both versions as printed and amends neither.

These ten are not a diagnostic tool. The first sentence under "Management" on the Department of Health's Elderly Health Service page reads: "Seek early medical advice and treatment if there is suspicion of dementia." ⚠️ Those are the Department of Health's words and this site quotes them as printed; this article itself makes no statement about whether anyone should have an assessment, and provides no method of self-assessment and no score cut-off.

Who most needs to know: sons and daughters who have already noticed changes in a parent but do not know whether those changes are "worth mentioning to a doctor".

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#Is there population screening for dementia in Hong Kong?

What the Secretary's reply of 22 April 2026 describes is the identification of suspected cases, and it states that screening measures are under review; it announces no population screening programme. The text of part (2) of the Secretary for Health's written reply to the Legislative Council of 22 April 2026:

At present, the PHC Commission has established preventive care standards for the early identification, assessment, and management for older adults (including dementia) through the Hong Kong Primary Healthcare Reference Framework. When primary healthcare providers suspect cognitive impairment or deterioration in an elderly person based on direct observation, patient self-report or feedback from family members/carers, they should conduct assessment of the person's cognitive function. If the screening result is positive, family doctors should carry out a comprehensive clinical evaluation to confirm the diagnosis of dementia and provide appropriate follow-up care. The advisory group under the PHC Commission is reviewing the overall strategy for the assessment and management of dementia at the primary healthcare level, including the incorporation of screening measures suitable for implementation in primary healthcare settings, to ensure the delivery of appropriate and evidence-based services to the public.

In other words: what triggers an assessment is suspicion — from direct observation by healthcare staff, from what the older person says, or from feedback by family members or carers. Feedback from family members is one of the triggers the official text names. ⚠️ The end of this article lists 24 items of "Hong Kong background and service material" one by one; not one of them has announced any population or organised screening programme for dementia; and the passage above states only that the advisory group "is reviewing" whether to incorporate screening measures, without announcing a conclusion or a timetable. ⚠️ The detailed standards of the Hong Kong Primary Healthcare Reference Framework are outside the scope of this article; the above is the Secretary's reply, not the text of that reference framework.

⚠️ Before that passage, part (2) of the reply has another paragraph about the new service model of the district health network, which states the age it applies to. The text: "Under this new model, the district health network will provide personalised health risk assessments and health education services to members aged 65 or above, and further enhance the accessibility through establishing additional service points and an overall increase in service capacity." This sentence is quoted again under "(3) District Health Centres" below.

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#Dad is becoming forgetful — what services can we reach? Assessment and support are separate things

The five groups of services below include clinical assessment, community support, and research or community testing programmes; not all of them are a route to diagnosis. Eligibility, entry point, fees, start date and recruitment status all differ. Some routes had not started as at the date shown on this article, and the application entry point of one of them was closed on that date; each is set out below.

#(1) The public referral route: Family Medicine Clinic referral to a specialist clinic

One of the entry points the Secretary's reply describes is the Hospital Authority's Family Medicine Clinics (formerly known as General Out-patient Clinics), which refer to specialist clinics according to the patient's condition. That reply is not a complete list of every specialist referral route. The text of parts (1) and (3) of the Secretary's reply:

When providing patient services at the HA's Family Medicine Clinics (formerly known as General Outpatient Clinics), doctors will provide and recommend appropriate treatment (including medication prescription and service referrals) based on the patient's clinical condition (including dementia) to meet the patient's individual needs.
　　Furthermore, patients with dementia commonly suffer from multiple chronic diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease, compounded by physical decline (eg memory loss, falls, incontinence). The HA refers patients to appropriate specialist outpatient (SOP) clinics, including Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, Psychogeriatrics and Memory Clinics, according to their needs, to offer them related management as clinically indicated. For example, the geriatric team provides services to patients with dementia who also suffer from other geriatric conditions, whilst the psychogeriatric team is responsible for supporting patients with dementia who exhibit severe comorbid emotional and behavioural symptoms.

⚠️ How long is the wait? The official answer is that there is no such figure. The same reply states:

The HA does not maintain statistics on waiting time for patients with dementia referred from Family Medicine Clinics to various SOP clinics.

The Hospital Authority publishes new case waiting times separately by specialty. Across the eight pages — Ear, Nose & Throat, Ophthalmology, Gynaecology, Medicine, Orthopaedics & Traumatology, Paediatrics, Psychiatry and Surgery — there is no separate table for Geriatrics, Psychogeriatrics or Memory Clinics. The Medicine and Psychiatry figures below are whole-specialty figures, not waiting times for a dementia assessment.

⚠️ The table above gives the median for "Stable Case", not the longest waiting time. Besides the median, both pages carry a "Longest (1)" row, which this article does not reproduce. The notes printed on the two pages are identical, and this article reproduces all three: "(1) The longest (90th percentile) waiting time implies that appointments are earlier than the indicated time in 90% of the new case bookings" "(2) Excluding cases pending for triage" "(3) The information on this page is based on the old clustering arrangement. The Hong Kong East Cluster and the Hong Kong West Cluster have officially been integrated to establish the Hong Kong Island Cluster from 1 April 2026. The information will be updated in due course." The same pages also print the triage system: "Specialist outpatient clinics have implemented a triage system to ensure patients with urgent conditions requiring early intervention are treated with priority. Referrals of new patients are usually first screened by a nurse and then by a specialist doctor of the relevant specialty for classification into Urgent, Semi-urgent and Stable categories. HA's targets are to maintain the median waiting time of Urgent and Semi-urgent cases within two weeks and eight weeks respectively." ⚠️ Note (1) explains the "Longest" row, not the medians in the table above; notes (2) and (3) bear directly on the table above.

Fees: paragraph 1.3 of Appendix I to Hospital Authority Gazette Notice No. 6792 provides that from 1 January 2026 the charge for Eligible Persons is $150 for attendance at a family medicine clinic (including integrated clinic) and $250 for attendance at a specialist clinic (including integrated clinic and allied health clinic); prescriptions and some investigations are charged separately under their own items. Those two consultation charges are not the total price of a complete cognitive assessment, and they do not displace the Hospital Authority's medical fee waiving arrangements. Hospital Authority list of charges (this site's summary)

#(2) The Dementia Community Support Scheme

The Social Welfare Department's page describes it as a community support scheme on a "medical-social collaboration" model, not a route to assessment that you sign up for yourself. The text of that page:

Based on a medical-social collaboration, the Scheme provides appropriate support services for elderly persons with mild or moderate dementia in the community to help stabilize progression of the disease and alleviate their distress of frequenting hospitals, as well as provides related support to carers to achieve "Ageing in Place". The Scheme has covered 41 District Elderly Community Centres and 7 Hospital Authority clusters in the territory. It is estimated that over 2 000 elderly persons with dementia will receive the services each year.

Eligibility (Health Bureau page, the page prints the date 12 Apr 2019), the text:

Target users of the Scheme are those aged 60 or above who are:
(a) Patients diagnosed with mild or moderate dementia and referred by Geriatric/Psycho-geriatric Teams of the Hospital Authority (HA); or
(b) Members of the District Elderly Community Centres (DECC) suspected of having features of early dementia.
HA/DECCs will assess the conditions of the patients/members and select suitable elderly persons to participate in the Scheme. Among the suitable cases, priority would normally be given to HA's patients diagnosed with mild dementia.

⚠️ The entry point is selection, not application. The last sentence states that the Hospital Authority or the District Elderly Community Centre, having assessed the patient or member, "will assess the conditions of the patients/members and select suitable elderly persons to participate in the Scheme". Neither the Social Welfare Department page nor the Health Bureau page quoted in this article prints a self-application form, address or route; item (b) above refers to people who are already members of a District Elderly Community Centre and are suspected of having early features.

Fees (Health Bureau page, the page prints the date 5 Sept 2022), the text:

Participants who are recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) or Old Age Living Allowance, or holders of medical fee waiver (not applicable to holders of one-off medical waiver) can receive free services under the Scheme.
Participants who are neither recipients of CSSA or Old Age Living Allowance, nor holders of medical fee waiver can pay a monthly fee of $150 to receive support services in that month under the Scheme.

⚠️ Read the bracket carefully: "(not applicable to holders of one-off medical waiver)" — a one-off medical fee waiver does not fall into the free category. The same page separately states: "If healthcare professionals of the District Elderly Community Centres (DECC) who provide support services under the Scheme have enrolled in the Elderly Health Care Voucher (EHCV) Scheme, the participants may consider using EHCVs at the DECCs concerned to pay the monthly fees", and that where centres consider that an elderly person who is not in the exempt categories has difficulty paying the monthly fees for some reason, they "can exercise discretion on the fee waiving on a case by case basis".

Doing the arithmetic (this site's arithmetic on the monthly fee quoted above): $150 a month is $1,800 over twelve months; recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance or Old Age Living Allowance are free under the provision quoted above. ⚠️ The page carrying the monthly fee prints the date 5 Sept 2022, and the page states no adjustment mechanism for the amount of the monthly fee itself. On a change in the older person's own circumstances, the same page has a further sentence: "If the financial/family status of a participant has changed that he/she has become a recipient of CSSA or Old Age Living Allowance, or a holder of medical fee waiver after he/she has participated in the Scheme, the participant can inform the DECC concerned to start waiving him/her the service fee under the Scheme in the following month after the change of his/her financial/family status."

Recruitment status: ⚠️ Neither the Social Welfare Department page nor the Health Bureau page quoted in this article states whether the scheme currently has a quota or a closing arrangement; the only scale figure printed is "It is estimated that over 2 000 elderly persons with dementia will receive the services each year".

#(3) District Health Centres

Membership is free and you register yourself; there are only two registration criteria. The text of the District Health Centre "General Public" page (the "General Public" page): "A1: Registration and membership are free. The membership is lifelong." The same page, under "Who is eligible to receive DHC service?", currently prints two items. The text:

is a holder of the Hong Kong Identity Card issued under the Registration of Persons Ordinance (Cap. 177, the Laws of Hong Kong) or the certificate of exemption, except those who obtained their Hong Kong Identity Cards by virtue of a previous permission to land or remain in Hong Kong granted to him and such permission has expired or ceased to be valid; or a child who is a Hong Kong resident and under 11 years of age; and
agrees to enrol in the Electronic Health System (eHealth);

Both the membership criteria and the eligibility Q1 on the "General Public" page set out those two items, and neither lists any address proof requirement. The same page gives the routes into service programmes as registering at the corresponding District Health Centre or being referred by another service unit.

Where does cognitive assessment appear? The text of the District Health Centre page "Integration of the Primary Healthcare Services for the Elderly" (the "Integration" page):

For members who have appointments for health assessment services at the EHCs, the DH will continue to provide services. Members awaiting an appointment date and elderly persons interested in using EHC services will receive a more comprehensive elderly health assessment service at the DHCs starting from December this year. The scope of assessment will be expanded from currently cognition, mobility and vision, to cover nutrition, hearing, psychological capacity and urinary problem. Healthcare professionals will formulate tailored management plans for the elderly persons based on the assessment results.

⚠️ That "more comprehensive elderly health assessment service" is a future arrangement, not one already under way as at the date shown on this article. The "Integration" page itself says "starting from December this year", and the same page states that the integration begins "From 5 October 2026 (Monday)", so "this year" means 2026; as at the date shown on this article the service has not yet begun.

⚠️ The new model carries an age condition, which is stated in the Secretary's reply rather than on these two District Health Centre pages. Part (2) of the Secretary for Health's written reply to the Legislative Council of 22 April 2026, in the paragraph before the one quoted above under "Is there population screening for dementia in Hong Kong?", reads: "Under this new model, the district health network will provide personalised health risk assessments and health education services to members aged 65 or above, and further enhance the accessibility through establishing additional service points and an overall increase in service capacity." The next sentence states that "The assessment scope will cover cognition, mobility, nutrition, vision and hearing, and psychological capacity". Membership itself has no minimum age, but on this sentence the health risk assessment under that new model is stated to be for members aged 65 or above; the lowest row in the prevalence table above is 60-64.

The "Integration" page also sets out the timetable for the integration: "The Primary Healthcare Commission (PHC Commission) under the Health Bureau will further enhance primary healthcare services for the elderly in Hong Kong. From 5 October 2026 (Monday), the PHC Commission will gradually integrate the services of Elderly Health Centres (EHCs) under the Department of Health (DH) into the district health network", with nine Elderly Health Centres integrated in the first phase — North District, Yuen Long, Tuen Mun Wu Hong, Tsuen Wan, Kwai Shing, San Po Kong, Yau Ma Tei, Shau Kei Wan and Aberdeen — and "Integration of the remaining nine EHCs will be completed within 2027-28"; on completion, "the number of service points will increase substantially from the current 18 to more than 100" and service capacity will rise "from the current approximately 54 000 elderly persons per year to more than 120 000".

Fees: ⚠️ Neither the District Health Centre "General Public" page nor the "Integration of the Primary Healthcare Services for the Elderly" page quoted in this article prints a single money amount — no subsidy figure, no cap on out-of-pocket fees, no price at all. What the "Service Package and Fee" section of the "General Public" page currently prints is the following, as printed:

Q3: Is there any limit on the number of subsidised healthcare service sessions?
A3: Yes, healthcare service sessions are provided based on clinical needs, and the maximum number of sessions for different DHC programmes has been set.
Q4: If all the subsidised sessions are consumed and extra service sessions are needed, will one get any subsidy for the subsequent sessions?
A4: Beyond the maximum number of subsidised sessions, the client has to pay the fees charged by the Network Service Provider.
Q5: Does a client need to pay extra fees if he / she visits his / her Network Service Provider for services not covered in the DHC scheme?
A5: Under the Scheme, the DHC client can receive subsidised healthcare professional services for the targeted diseases within the scope as specified. Individual clients may receive additional service(s) or treatment at their own expenses.

⚠️ A5 has to be read with A3 and A4: the subsidy reaches only "healthcare professional services for the targeted diseases within the scope as specified", and services outside that scope are, on that page's wording, at the client's own expense. The page does not print which diseases the specified scope includes.

The same section of the "General Public" page also states: "Civil servants and Hospital Authority staff have to make the co-payment for DHC services"; "Clients who have participated in the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme can pay for DHC services from their Health Care Voucher accounts"; and, on referral arrangements, the text: "Q7: Is referral required for DHC services? A7: Individual allied health services require medical referral from the Family Doctor. Self-referral will be accepted for Chinese medicine services."

Where amounts are printed, it is in a different document. The Health Bureau press release of 20 March 2025 states:

In addition, starting from April 15, over 20 additional service points will be introduced across the city to provide dedicated nurse clinic, allied health and Chinese medicine services for eligible District Health Centre/Express (DHC/DHCE) members who have not participated in the CDCC Pilot Scheme.

The text of a later paragraph of the same release: "The co-payment model will be adopted for DHC/DHCE members receiving dedicated nurse clinic and allied health services. Eligible individuals will receive partial subsidies from the Government and pay a designated co-payment fee for services. The co-payment fee for DHC/DHCE members and CDCC Pilot Scheme participants receiving dedicated nurse clinic, allied health and Chinese medicine services are set out in the Annex." The release itself prints the date 20 March 2025, so "April 15" above means 15 April 2025.

The Annex to that release prints two tables, with a column headed "Participant's Co-payment Fee (per visit)". Table 1 is headed "Co-payment fee for DHC/DHCE members receiving dedicated nurse clinic, allied health and Chinese medicine services under the district health network", and prints six rows: dedicated nurse clinic $80, occupational therapist $150, Chinese medicine practitioner $150, physiotherapist (rehabilitation and treatment) $380, speech therapist $380, dietitian $380. Table 2 is headed "Co-payment fee for CDCC Pilot Scheme participants receiving dedicated nurse clinic, allied health and Chinese medicine services under the district health network", and prints five rows: dedicated nurse clinic $80, physiotherapist (health education and consultation) $150, optometrist $150, dietitian $380, podiatrist $380. (The amounts above are listed row by row as printed in the two tables of that Annex; this site has not merged, converted or rewritten any row.)

⚠️ The two tables have eleven rows between them, each corresponding to one dedicated nurse clinic, allied health or Chinese medicine service. Neither table has a row for cognitive assessment, elderly health assessment or health risk assessment, and neither has a row for a doctor's consultation. The word "cognitive" does not appear anywhere in that release.

⚠️ So, apart from membership registration being free, the two District Health Centre pages quoted in this article do not print whether cognitive assessment falls into the free category or the out-of-pocket category, do not print a price for it, and still less print what the "out-of-pocket fee" actually is; and the co-payment tables above (the services concerned being provided, per that release, from 15 April 2025) set no co-payment for cognitive assessment or elderly health assessment either. This article therefore does not say that cognitive assessment at a District Health Centre is free, and gives no amount for it.

⚠️ On arrangements for underprivileged elders, the "Integration" page has a further passage, as printed: "Elderly persons who are recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme, recipients of Old Age Living Allowance aged 75 or above, and elderly persons holding a valid Medical Fee Waiver Certificate, upon registering as DHC members, will be arranged to receive preventive elderly health services and assessments at designated HA FMCs. Subject to their eligibility, the relevant fees may be fully or partially waived." That passage is about going to designated Hospital Authority Family Medicine Clinics, not to a District Health Centre.

⚠️ The two District Health Centre pages each print their own review date in the footer: the "Integration" page prints "Last Review Date: 19 August 2026" and the "General Public" page prints "Last Review Date: 1 December 2025". The two dates differ, that is, each page is marked separately; it is not one date for the whole site.

#(4) The Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association Memory Clinic

This route is run by the Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association itself, and the fees are published by the association on its own page. The association's Memory Clinic page sets out two services; the text of the first:

Professionally trained registered nurse or occupational therapist will use series of internationally recognized assessment tools to assess the cognitive, psycho-social and physical functions, as well as self-care ability, of people with early symptoms of dementia.
Those assessed as suspected dementia will be referred for further medical diagnosis and follow up.

The targeted service users, as printed: "People showing early signs of dementia and not yet have a medical diagnosis." On how to apply, that page prints one line: "Please call 2338 1120." ⚠️ The page does not state whether this service requires a referral, so this article makes no statement about referral.

Fees, as printed: "$550 (weekdays) ; $680 (Saturdays)".

⚠️ That $550 / $680 is the fee for the service above, "Professionally trained registered nurse or occupational therapist will use series of internationally recognized assessment tools". The same page has a second service; the text:

Suspected cases who received Early Detection Service will be diagnosed and offered medical follow up by the Specialists. The Service aims to grasp the golden period for treatment. Normally, our Memory Clinic can provide diagnosis and medical follow up to suspected cases within three months.

⚠️ "Normally, our Memory Clinic can provide diagnosis and medical follow up to suspected cases within three months" is a statement the Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association makes on its own service page, not an official statistic, and the page prints no method of calculation, no period covered and no number of cases. This site quotes it as printed, supplies no basis on its behalf, and does not set it alongside the Hospital Authority waiting figures for those two specialties.

⚠️ The page prints no amount under "Fee" for that second service. This article therefore does not say what a diagnosis costs, and does not estimate it.

The targeted service users of that service, as printed: "Person who received our Early Detection Service within half year and was recommended to have further medical consultation." The two asterisked notes on the same page, as printed:

After the initial clinical consultation, the doctor will recommend further examinations as appropriate to the individual case, such as blood tests or brain scans. Any additional tests may incur extra charges, and family members may decide whether to proceed and bear the related costs.
The memory clinic only prescribes medications for treating Dementia. Service users/ family members can pick up at our Memory Clinic, or purchase from the Community Pharmacies with our doctor's prescriptions.

Vouchers and subsidy: the page states that "Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association is recognized service provider of 'Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme'. People aged 65 or above with HKID card can pay the above assessment fee with Health Care Voucher."; and separately, as printed: "People who are receiving or are eligible to apply for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) or Old Age Living Allowance (OALA), can apply for subsidies provided by the Hong Kong Community Chest Medical Assistance Fund. Successful applicants will have their fees waived for one year, or until a successful referral to the government or subsidized medical services (whichever is earlier)."

⚠️ The page prints no effective date for the fees, so this article attaches no effective date to those two prices.

#(5) Two university testing programmes

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's NeuroCare Community Project. The text of the news page of its School of Science (the page prints the date News | 24 Mar 2026):

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) today launched the NeuroCare Community Project (the Project), a five-year initiative to enhance early detection of Alzheimer's risk for Hong Kong's elderly who need support. Working with over 40 community centers under more than a dozen non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and in collaboration with Tung Wah College (TWC), the Project aims to screen 6,000 community-dwelling elderly aged 60-75, shifting the focus from late-stage diagnosis to proactive, community-based care.

The same page states that testing is free and gives its funding sources: "Thanks to the generous funding from the Lee Hysan Foundation, the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation, and The D. H. Chen Foundation, the Project will leverage blood based testing technology developed by HKUST to provide free screening services for community dwelling elderly individuals."; and describes the testing pathway in four stages: "The Project adopts a structured, four-stage approach. Participants will receive cognitive assessments and routine blood tests, while those who are eligible will also undergo biomarker evaluations and advanced brain imaging to identify early signs of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI)."

⚠️ The entry point is described only as "Working with over 40 community centers". The page prints no application address, no hotline, no closing date, and does not state whether it is still taking people. This article therefore does not say that this programme is currently recruiting, and gives no way of applying.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong's 高錕中大「腦智同護」 service. The website is published in Chinese only; the English rendering "Charles K. Kao CUHK 'BEAT-AD' service" used below is this site's, taken from the foundation's own English name, "Charles K. Kao Foundation for the Alzheimer's Disease", and from the website address. The text of the programme's website (this site's translation; the site is published in Chinese only):

The Charles K. Kao CUHK "BEAT-AD" programme aims to provide, free of charge, a preliminary screening assessment by a nurse for elderly people aged 60 to 80 with financial difficulty who have recently been suspected of developing dementia, in order to determine the severity of the symptoms and the underlying cause, and to recommend the next medical step.

Eligibility (the site's "Programme flow" page), the text (this site's translation):

1 Hong Kong resident
2 Aged between 60 and 80
3 Never diagnosed with any neurological disease or any disease that can induce dementia

The programme's home page brings financial difficulty into its description of the target users, whereas the eligibility page lists only three basic conditions. The website does not explain the relationship between the two, so financial difficulty cannot be treated as a condition that has been removed; actual eligibility is assessed by the programme team.

The same website also carries other service descriptions. The home page mentions assisting elders with suspected or already diagnosed mild Alzheimer's disease, whereas the eligibility page and the frequently asked questions require that the person has not been diagnosed with a relevant neurological disease. It is not clear from these passages whether they refer to the same stage of the service, and it cannot be concluded from them that anyone already diagnosed is eligible; and the application form currently shows that new applications are suspended.

Fees, per the site's frequently asked questions (this site's translation): "Participation in this programme is free. If the assessment during the programme produces an abnormal result, the team will arrange further follow-up for the participant, or provide a medical referral, and the participant may then choose whether to take part and may have to bear the related costs." Exclusion criteria, from the same frequently asked questions (this site's translation): "Participants recruited for this programme must never have been diagnosed with any neurological disease or any disease that can induce dementia (for example: dementia, stroke, cerebral small vessel disease, Parkinson's syndrome, encephalitis, brain cancer, major depression, sleep apnoea); those who do not meet this will not be considered."

Entry point: the site's "Programme flow" page states that an online questionnaire must be completed first; the text of two sentences (this site's translation): "Those interested in taking part must first, with the help of a carer or a relative or friend, complete online a simple cognitive self-screening questionnaire and a physical condition questionnaire, for a preliminary assessment. The team will arrange an appointment for assessment for the participant according to the participant's condition." ⚠️ That is, after the questionnaire is submitted there is a further step: the team arranges the assessment appointment. The place and time of assessment, from the frequently asked questions (this site's translation): "You may book an assessment time through the booking system on the website, generally Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, excluding public holidays. The venue is The Chinese University of Hong Kong."

⚠️ The application entry point was closed on the date shown on this article. The "Register now" links on the site's home page and "Programme flow" page all point to the same online application form (https://forms.gle/sZrqxcgsJEEUyzDr5). That form shows that new applications are suspended; the text (this site's translation):

Charles K. Kao CUHK "BEAT-AD" service application form
Thank you for your support for the service. Because of the large number of applications, the service will temporarily stop accepting new applications. Those interested in applying, please keep an eye on our application form to learn when it reopens. The latest news will also be announced on the application form. Thank you for your understanding.

⚠️ The two pages of that site themselves print no target recruitment number, no recruitment period, and do not state on the page that recruitment has closed; the passage above is printed by the application form itself. That form does not say when it will reopen, and this article makes no statement about a reopening date.

Who most needs to know: sons and daughters who want to know what routes exist besides the public queue, and how each route is actually entered.

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#What support is there for carers themselves?

The Social Welfare Department operates a 24-hour Designated Hotline for Carer Support, 182 183. The text of that department's page: "The 24-hour Designated Hotline for Carer Support 182 183 is manned by professional social workers, providing up-to-date information on community support resources, instant consultation and counselling, outreaching, emergency support and referral services etc."

Allowance for Carers of the Elderly: $3,000 a month for those eligible, and up to $6,000 a month for caring for more than one eligible elderly person. Under "Disbursement of Allowance" on page 3 of the Social Welfare Department's Brief on the Scheme on Living Allowance for Carers of Elderly Persons from Low-income Families (August 2026), the higher amount requires an assessment by an approved service provider that the carer is capable of and suitable to care for more than one elderly person at once; it is not an automatic multiple of the number of people cared for. Page 1 separately requires at least 80 hours of care per month for one elderly person, and a combined total of no less than 120 hours of care per month for more than one eligible elderly person. the Social Welfare Department's current brief, pages 1, 3 and 5 (this site's summary)

The applicant has to meet conditions on both the elderly person's side and the carer's side. Per page 1 and the notes on page 5 of the same brief (this site's summary):

• The elderly person being taken care of must be a Hong Kong resident living in Hong Kong, who at the time of application has been assessed as suitable and recommended for community care services and/or residential care services under the Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services, and remains on the Central Waiting List for subsidised long-term care services.
• During the application and the receipt of the allowance, the elderly person must be living in the community without using any residential care services; short-term respite is dealt with by the monthly hours arrangement set out below.
• The carer must be capable of taking up the caregiving role, and must meet the 80 / 120 monthly hours requirement. Note 1 sets out the circumstances in which a person is not deemed capable, including being under the age of 15, having been assessed as suitable for community care and/or residential care services, being on the Central Waiting List for subsidised long-term care or for specified subsidised rehabilitation services, special schools with boarding placement, or infirmary services under the Hospital Authority, and being a recipient of the Disability Allowance; the full scope is as set out in that note.
• The carer must be a Hong Kong resident living in Hong Kong and not engaged in any employment relationship with the elderly person being taken care of. A footnote on page 1 separately excludes people who come to Hong Kong through the various talent admission schemes and their dependants; holding a Hong Kong Identity Card is not by itself enough to establish eligibility.
• The carer must not be a recipient of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, the Old Age Living Allowance or the Disability Allowance, and cannot simultaneously claim the Social Welfare Department's living allowance for low-income carers of persons with disabilities for taking care of the same elderly person. For each elderly person being taken care of, only one carer can apply for the allowance at any given time.
• The monthly household income of the carer and the household members residing with them must not exceed the limit for the corresponding household size; assets are not counted.

The income table on page 1 of the brief sets out the monthly household income limits as: 1 person $18,750, 2 persons $25,125, 3 persons $31,500, 4 persons $39,675, 5 persons $50,025, and 6 or above $55,800. These are household income limits, not allowance amounts. Note 3 on page 5 defines household members as persons who reside with the applicant in Hong Kong and have close economic ties with them (excluding economic ties arising from an employment relationship), and those members must also be Hong Kong residents; the monthly household income is the average monthly income for the three months prior to the month of application submission, and income not paid on a monthly basis, such as bonuses, is apportioned over the period concerned. The detailed items to be declared are in the brief's annexed "Guide on Reporting Income".

Respite does not necessarily stop the allowance for that month. Page 4 of the same brief explains that if the elderly person stays in a residential care home for respite service for part of a month, the carer may still receive the allowance for that month provided the minimum monthly caregiving hours are met; hours during the respite period are not counted, and if the minimum is not met the allowance is not paid for that month. If the elderly person is formally admitted to a residential care home, or eligibility otherwise changes, the Social Welfare Department or the approved service provider must be notified immediately; where eligibility ceases, the brief provides that payment stops from the calendar month following the change.

Respite services and their charges. On the fees for day respite service for the elderly, the Social Welfare Department's text: for subsidised day care centres/units and private residential care homes for the elderly under the Enhanced Bought Place Scheme providing day/residential respite service, "$41.5 per day"; for recognised service providers participating in the Community Care Service Voucher Scheme providing day respite service, "$21 per session". On the fees for residential respite service for the elderly: Care-and-Attention places "$62 per day", Contract-Home places "$62 per day", Nursing-Home places "$72 per day". ⚠️ The day respite fee page separately prints: "The rate of fee may be adjusted annually. Additional care items and /or consumables items for special personal / nursing care needs of the service users are charged separately."

⚠️ Day respite and residential respite have different entry points, and the Social Welfare Department states this itself. Day respite: "Users of day respite services do not need to be assessed under the Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services. There are no restrictions on their living district.", and applications may be made by applying "directly via the concerned residential care homes/centres/units", through referrals from service units, or by calling 182 183. Residential respite: "Referrals for admission to residential respite service should be made by a social worker."

⚠️ But "no assessment needed" does not mean no conditions — the same page has, below those two sentences, a set of eligibility criteria, which this article sets out as printed:

Elderly persons who require short-term day care and meet the following conditions can be accepted for day respite service:
aged 60 or above living in the community and not receiving residential care services;
in need of general personal care and / or limited nursing care service;
physically and mentally suitable for communal living; and
the health condition and self-care ability meet the level of personal and nursing care rendered by the centres / units / residential homes that provide day respite service.

The residential respite page has its own criteria, two items in the text: "Elderly persons aged 60 or above; and those who physically and mentally fit for communal living." ⚠️ Both pages use the language of "can be accepted" and eligibility criteria, that is, acceptance still depends on the conditions above; this article makes no judgement about whether any individual older person meets them.

Who most needs to know: sons and daughters working while caring for a parent, who want to know whether there is any respite arrangement and any cash support.

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#Common questions

• Is "one in three over 85" true? It does not match the Centre for Health Protection's figure. Table 1 of the August 2025 issue of that Centre's Non-Communicable Diseases Watch gives the weighted prevalence in the 85 or above age group as 49.8%, which is close to one in two; the population of that table is elders aged 60 or above living in the community and residential care homes taken together, sample-weighted by the age and gender of the Hong Kong population. "One in ten elders aged 60 or above" is the text of that publication's key messages, and is consistent with the 9.7% total in Table 1.
• How long is the wait for a dementia assessment through the public referral route? The Secretary for Health's written reply to the Legislative Council of 22 April 2026 states that "The HA does not maintain statistics on waiting time for patients with dementia referred from Family Medicine Clinics to various SOP clinics". What this article quotes are the whole-specialty new case waiting times for the Hospital Authority's Medicine and Psychiatry (reporting period 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026); the Authority publishes specialist out-patient new case waiting times across eight specialties, none of them Geriatrics, Psychogeriatrics or Memory Clinics, and the table above is not the waiting time for a dementia assessment. As for private or institutional routes, the Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association's Memory Clinic page itself says "Normally, our Memory Clinic can provide diagnosis and medical follow up to suspected cases within three months", which is a statement by the association on its own service page, not an official statistic.
• Is a memory clinic assessment $550 all in? The $550 (Monday to Friday) / $680 (Saturdays) published on the Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association's Memory Clinic page is the fee for assessment by a registered nurse or occupational therapist. The same page prints no amount under "Fee" for the specialist doctor's diagnosis, so this article does not say what a diagnosis costs. The page separately notes that examinations recommended after the initial clinical consultation, such as blood tests or brain scans, "may incur extra charges".
• Can I apply to the Dementia Community Support Scheme myself? The Health Bureau page states that "HA/DECCs will assess the conditions of the patients/members and select suitable elderly persons to participate in the Scheme", eligibility being patients diagnosed with mild or moderate dementia and referred by the Hospital Authority's Geriatric or Psycho-geriatric Teams, or members of District Elderly Community Centres suspected of having features of early dementia. Neither the Social Welfare Department page nor the Health Bureau page quoted in this article prints a self-application form or address. The monthly fee is $150, and recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, the Old Age Living Allowance or a medical fee waiver (other than holders of a one-off medical waiver) receive the services free under that page.
• Is a cognitive assessment at a District Health Centre charged for? Neither the District Health Centre "General Public" page nor the "Integration of the Primary Healthcare Services for the Elderly" page quoted in this article prints a single money amount. What the two pages currently print is: registration and membership are free; the maximum number of subsidised sessions for different programmes has been set, and "Beyond the maximum number of subsidised sessions, the client has to pay the fees charged by the Network Service Provider"; "Civil servants and Hospital Authority staff have to make the co-payment for DHC services"; Elderly Health Care Vouchers may be used to pay for services; and "Individual allied health services require medical referral from the Family Doctor. Self-referral will be accepted for Chinese medicine services." Where amounts are printed, it is in a different document: the Annex to the Health Bureau press release of 20 March 2025, whose two co-payment tables have eleven rows between them, from dedicated nurse clinic at $80 up to dietitian, speech therapist and podiatrist at $380, the services concerned being provided from 15 April 2025 per that release; but neither table has a row for cognitive assessment or elderly health assessment, and the word "cognitive" does not appear anywhere in that release. None of the three documents says whether a cognitive assessment is free or charged, or how much the out-of-pocket fee is, so this article gives no amount for it.
• Is the District Health Centre's more comprehensive elderly health assessment available now? The "Integration of the Primary Healthcare Services for the Elderly" page says it is available "starting from December this year", and the same page states that the integration begins on 5 October 2026; as at the date shown on this article the service has not yet begun. Separately, part (2) of the Secretary for Health's written reply to the Legislative Council of 22 April 2026 states that "Under this new model, the district health network will provide personalised health risk assessments and health education services to members aged 65 or above", and the two District Health Centre pages themselves do not print that age condition.
• Are the two university programmes still taking people? The HKUST School of Science page (24 March 2026) states that the project runs for five years, aims to screen 6,000 community-dwelling elderly aged 60-75, and works through over 40 community centres, but prints no application route and no closing date and no recruitment status, so this article makes no statement about the recruitment status of the HKUST project. The two pages of the CUHK "BEAT-AD" website themselves print no recruitment status, but the "Register now" links on both pages point to the same online application form; that form prints that, because of the large number of applications, the service will temporarily stop accepting new applications, and does not say when it will reopen.

Related article: 〈Waiting for a public specialist appointment and getting worse — can you ask to be seen earlier?〉

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#What this article covers

• This article does not say whether anyone should or should not have a dementia assessment, and does not judge the urgency of any individual situation. The "Seek early medical advice and treatment if there is suspicion of dementia" quoted above is the text of the Department of Health's Elderly Health Service page, quoted by this site as printed.
• This article does not treat the Hospital Authority's Psychiatry or Medicine waiting figures as the waiting time for a dementia assessment. The Secretary for Health states that the Hospital Authority does not maintain the relevant statistics, and the eight specialty pages above have no separate table for Geriatrics, Psychogeriatrics or Memory Clinics.
• This article does not treat "Normally, our Memory Clinic can provide diagnosis and medical follow up to suspected cases within three months", on the Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association's Memory Clinic page, as an official waiting time figure. It is a statement the association makes on its own service page; the page prints no method of calculation, period covered or number of cases, and this article does not compare it with the Hospital Authority's figures for those two specialties.
• This article does not say what the Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association Memory Clinic's specialist doctor diagnosis costs. That field on the page is blank, and this article does not estimate it. Nor does this article attach an effective date to the $550 / $680 on that page, because the page prints none.
• This article gives no amount for cognitive assessment at a District Health Centre. Neither the District Health Centre "General Public" page nor the "Integration of the Primary Healthcare Services for the Elderly" page quoted in this article prints a single money amount, or maps cognitive assessment to any fee category; and of the eleven rows in the two co-payment tables annexed to the Health Bureau press release of 20 March 2025, none is for cognitive assessment or elderly health assessment.
• This article does not infer the history of District Health Centre charges. Each arrangement is quoted only within the scope described by the named service pages listed and the 2025 press release annex.
• This article does not say that the District Health Centre's more comprehensive elderly health assessment has already begun. The "Integration of the Primary Healthcare Services for the Elderly" page states "starting from December this year", and as at the date shown on this article the service has not yet begun; nor does this article make any statement about how that service will actually be arranged in future.
• This article does not merge the prevalence figures or sample sizes from the three official sources into a single figure. The 9.7% / 7.4% / 68.8% (Centre for Health Protection), the 7.4% and approximately 70% (CUHK press release) and the 20.9% and 8.3% (the Secretary's reply) rest on different bases, and none of the pages quoted in this article explains how they reconcile; the same is true of the two sample sizes, 4,368 plus 503 and 4 500.
• This article makes no statement that dementia deaths have been "continuously rising" in recent years, and does not say in which year it entered the ten leading causes of death. The cause-of-death table is ranked on a single year, 2025, and prints no ranking for earlier years; the 2025 figure carries a "#", which that table's note defines as provisional figures.
• This article does not define "mild cognitive impairment", and prints no assessment score cut-off and no method of self-assessment. Not one of the 24 items listed at the end of this article under "Hong Kong background and service material" contains an official definition.
• This article cites no Hong Kong clinical guideline. The Secretary's reply mentions that the Hong Kong Primary Healthcare Reference Framework has established standards for early identification, assessment and care, but this article does not cover the detailed standards of that reference framework.
• This article does not set out the "14 modifiable risk factors" item by item. The Centre for Health Protection attributes the sentence that nearly half of all dementias could be prevented to the Livingston et al. (2024) Lancet Commission report, and the associated figure is an image used with permission from Alzheimer's Disease International; this article does not reproduce it.
• This article does not claim that the two university programmes are currently recruiting. The HKUST School of Science page prints no application route, closing date or recruitment status, and this article makes no statement about it; the two CUHK "BEAT-AD" pages themselves print no recruitment status either, and the "temporarily stop accepting new applications" quoted above is text printed by the online application form to which the "Register now" links on those two pages point. This article makes no statement about when that form will reopen.
• The Allowance for Carers of the Elderly amounts, income limits and eligibility are as set out in the Social Welfare Department's brief of August 2026; the maximum of $6,000 a month requires meeting the multiple-person caregiving hours and an assessment by an approved service provider, and not every carer can receive it. This article cannot judge on the Social Welfare Department's behalf whether anyone is eligible.
• This article does not compare or recommend any hospital, clinic, organisation or doctor. The programmes and organisations mentioned above are listed only as to eligibility, entry point and fees, on the basis of their own published pages.
• This article quotes no Traditional Chinese page. Every quotation in this edition is taken from the English page or the English PDF of the body concerned, and none of it is translated — except the Chinese University of Hong Kong's 高錕中大「腦智同護」 website and its online application form, which are published in Chinese only, and whose passages are marked at each occurrence as this site's translation.
• This is the English edition. The Traditional Chinese edition is the authoritative version of this article. Quotations above are reproduced from the official English text published by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, or from the English pages of the bodies concerned, not translated by this site — with one exception, marked at each occurrence: the Chinese University of Hong Kong's Charles K. Kao CUHK "BEAT-AD" service website and its online application form are published in Chinese only, and the passages taken from them are this site's translation.

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This is health information, not medical advice.

#Sources

#Public clinic charges

• Hospital Authority, Gazette Notice No. 6792 list of charges, Appendix I paragraph 1.3 (from 1 January 2026): https://www.ha.org.hk/haho/ho/cc/Gazette_en.pdf.

#Current brief on the Allowance for Carers of the Elderly

• Social Welfare Department, Brief on the Scheme on Living Allowance for Carers of Elderly Persons from Low-income Families (for new applicants' reference; August 2026), page 1 eligibility criteria and income table, pages 3-4 disbursement of allowance, page 5 notes and pages 6-7 Guide on Reporting Income: https://www.swd.gov.hk/storage/asset/section/1275/EP%20Service%20Brief%20for%20Applicant%20(English)%20(08_2026).pdf (Last updated: 2026-09-08).

#Hong Kong background and service material

• Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health, "Number of registered deaths by leading cause of death, 2001 - 2025" (the page footer prints "Revision Date: 2026/07/29"): https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/statistics/data/10/27/380.html (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Non-Communicable Disease Branch, Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health, Non-Communicable Diseases Watch, August 2025, "Understanding Dementia" (August 2025): https://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/ncd_watch_aug_2025_en.pdf (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Elderly Health Service, Department of Health, "Dementia" (the footer date does not identify the content version): https://www.elderly.gov.hk/english/health_information/dementia/dementia.html (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region press release, "LCQ13: Measures to support dementia patients" (written reply by the Secretary for Health, 22 April 2026): https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202604/22/P2026042200395.htm (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Hospital Authority, "Waiting Time for New Case Booking at Psychiatry Specialist Out-patient Clinics" (reporting period 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026; the page prints a next update date of 30 October 2026): https://www.ha.org.hk/visitor/sopc_waiting_time.asp?id=7&lang=ENG (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Hospital Authority, "Waiting Time for New Case Booking at Medicine Specialist Out-patient Clinics" (reporting period 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026; the page prints a next update date of 30 October 2026): https://www.ha.org.hk/visitor/sopc_waiting_time.asp?id=4&lang=ENG (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Hospital Authority, the remaining six specialist out-patient new case waiting time pages (same URL form https://www.ha.org.hk/visitor/sopc_waiting_time.asp?id=N&lang=ENG, where N is 1 Ear, Nose & Throat, 2 Ophthalmology, 3 Gynaecology, 5 Orthopaedics & Traumatology, 6 Paediatrics, 8 Surgery) (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Social Welfare Department, "Dementia Community Support Scheme" (the page footer prints "Revision Date: 18 March 2026"): https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/pubsvc/elderly/cat_careersupp/dcss/index.html (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Health Bureau, "Dementia Community Support Scheme — Target Users" (the page prints the date 12 Apr 2019): https://www.healthbureau.gov.hk/en/press_and_publications/otherinfo/180500_dcss/dcss_target_users.html (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Health Bureau, "Dementia Community Support Scheme — Fees" (the page prints the date 5 Sept 2022): https://www.healthbureau.gov.hk/en/press_and_publications/otherinfo/180500_dcss/dcss_fees.html (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Health Bureau, "Dementia Community Support Scheme — Support Services" (the page prints the date 12 Apr 2019): https://www.healthbureau.gov.hk/en/press_and_publications/otherinfo/180500_dcss/dcss_support_services.html (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• District Health Centre, "Integration of the Primary Healthcare Services for the Elderly" (the page footer prints "Last Review Date: 19 August 2026"): https://www.dhc.gov.hk/en/ehsintegration.html (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• District Health Centre, "General Public" (the page footer prints "Last Review Date: 1 December 2025"): https://www.dhc.gov.hk/en/general_public.html (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region press release, "Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme expands to cover blood lipid testing and District Health Centres enhance allied health services" (Health Bureau press release, the release prints the date 20 March 2025; the two annexed co-payment tables relate to services provided from 15 April 2025): https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202503/20/P2025032000224.htm (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association, "Memory Clinic" (the page carries no self-printed date; the fees print no effective date): https://eng.hkada.org.hk/memoryclinic (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, "CUHK announces survey results on the mental health of local child, adolescent and elderly populations" (29 November 2023): https://www.med.cuhk.edu.hk/press-releases/cuhk-announces-survey-results-on-the-mental-health-of-local-child-adolescent-and-elderly-populations (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• School of Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, "HKUST Launches NeuroCare Community Project to Screen 6,000 Elderly for Early Alzheimer's" (24 March 2026): https://science.hkust.edu.hk/news/hkust-launches-neurocare-community-project-screen-6000-elderly-early-alzheimers (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Charles K. Kao CUHK "BEAT-AD" service website, home page (the page carries no self-printed date; Chinese only, quotations are this site's translation): https://neurology.mect.cuhk.edu.hk/beatad/ (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Charles K. Kao CUHK "BEAT-AD" service website, "Programme flow" and frequently asked questions (the pages carry no self-printed date; Chinese only, quotations are this site's translation): https://neurology.mect.cuhk.edu.hk/beatad/services/ (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Charles K. Kao CUHK "BEAT-AD" service application form (the common destination of the "Register now" links on the two pages above; shown as closed on 2026-09-07; Chinese only, quotation is this site's translation): https://forms.gle/sZrqxcgsJEEUyzDr5 (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Social Welfare Department, "Carer Support" (the page footer prints "Revision Date: 5 March 2026"): https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/pubsvc/elderly/cat_careersupp/carersuppo/index.html (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Social Welfare Department, "Scheme on Living Allowance for Carers of Elderly Persons from Low-income Families" (the page footer prints "Revision Date: 21 August 2026"): https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/pubsvc/elderly/cat_careersupp/allowanceforcarersoftheelderly/index.html (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Social Welfare Department, "Day Respite Service for the Elderly" (the English page footer prints "Revision Date: 1 September 2026"): https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/pubsvc/elderly/cat_careersupp/drrr/dayrespite/ (Last updated: 2026-09-08)
• Social Welfare Department, "Residential Respite Service for the Elderly" (the English page footer prints "Revision Date: 10 September 2026"): https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/pubsvc/elderly/cat_careersupp/drrr/respiteser/ (Last updated: 2026-09-08)

Official arrangements, eligibility and charges may be updated; the announcements of the bodies concerned prevail. This is health information, not medical advice, and it cannot assess any individual situation. In an emergency, attend the nearest Accident & Emergency Department.