Outreach swallowing tests help elderly rediscover joy of eating

Tung Wah Group of Hospitals stated that introducing outreach Flexible

Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing to residential care homes for the elderly

can provide timely and objective swallowing assessments, helping seniors

rediscover the joy of eating.

Over 60% of elderly residents in care homes across Hong Kong suffer from

swallowing difficulties, but long waiting times make precise evaluations

hard to access.

In response, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals partnered with the Department

of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at CUHK's Faculty of Medicine

to launch a two-year pilot scheme in 2024.

The programme provided outreach services to 50 seniors, conducting endoscopic

swallowing evaluation directly at their care homes.

During the project, dietary restrictions were successfully relaxed for 30 seniors,

such as reducing the use of thickeners or upgrading their diet from pureed

to minced meals.

A 90 years old woman was even able to have her nasogastric tube removed following her evaluation.

Tung Wah Group of Hospitals considers the pilot scheme a valuable model

and hopes to expand it further so more seniors can benefit.