Stroke Rehabilitation in Hong Kong: Who Provides Each Stage
Stroke rehabilitation in Hong Kong begins in Hospital Authority hospitals, where an Acute Stroke Unit team delivers physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, clinical psychology and medical social work. After discharge, community rehabilitation shifts mainly to non-governmental organisations, geriatric day hospitals and Social Welfare Department home care services, with referral routes that differ at each stage.
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Rehabilitation after a stroke continues after hospital discharge, at home or in a day programme. Generated illustration. No real person is depicted.
On this page
- What stroke rehabilitation is and when it starts
- The Hong Kong stroke rehabilitation pathway, from acute care to community
- The therapy disciplines after a stroke and what each one addresses
- Community rehabilitation after discharge, and home based therapy
- How a family arranges and continues therapy after discharge
- Judging a rehabilitation provider's claims, and when therapy can be reduced
- Common questions
What stroke rehabilitation is and when it starts
Stroke rehabilitation is the therapy that follows acute treatment of a stroke. The Hospital Authority's Smart Patient page states that its aim is the best recovery of the patient's daily life activity functions, and that not all physical function can be fully restored.
The same page states that rehabilitation training starts as soon as possible, and that the Acute Stroke Unit team provides acute treatment, rehabilitation care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, medical social work and clinical psychological services.
It is very important to start rehabilitation training as soon as possible.
Hospital Authority Smart Patient
In the rehabilitative stage a multi-professional team assesses the patient's physical and psychological functions, the rehabilitation care required and the carers' ability.
Acute and inpatient rehabilitation sits with the Hospital Authority, while community rehabilitation comes mainly from non-governmental organisations and geriatric day hospitals. The stages below follow the Hospital Authority's Smart Patient stroke page and a written reply on support for patients discharged from hospital.
- Acute care in a Hospital Authority hospital, where the Acute Stroke Unit team runs treatment and rehabilitation together.
- Inpatient rehabilitation, where the team assesses function, therapy needs and the family's caring ability.
- Discharge planning, where a Discharge Planning Team of doctors, nurses, occupational therapists and physiotherapists draws up a personalised plan.
- Outpatient and day hospital rehabilitation, where geriatric day hospitals provide assessment, continued care and rehabilitation.
- Community rehabilitation day centres, four of them subvented, for patients needing continuous rehabilitation training.
- Home based care through Social Welfare Department home care services, which include rehabilitation exercise.
Eligibility differs by stage. Community rehabilitation day centres take referrals from Hospital Authority medical officers, occupational therapists or physiotherapists, for people aged 15 or above with stroke or neurological impairment. The Integrated Discharge Support Programme covers medical patients aged 60 or above discharged at higher risk of readmission, about 33,000 people a year before 2019. Agetide lists rehabilitation services in Hong Kong by provider type.
The therapy disciplines after a stroke and what each one addresses
| Discipline or service | What the source says it addresses | Where it is named |
|---|
| Physiotherapy | Restoring physical function, teaching correct care and exercises, preventing complications | Acute Stroke Unit, inpatient rehabilitation, community day centres |
| Occupational therapy | Basic self-care, domestic care, vocational and leisure skills | Acute Stroke Unit, discharge planning, community day rehabilitation |
| Speech therapy | Swallowing, communication and verbal expression | Acute Stroke Unit, follow-up after discharge |
| Clinical psychology | Psychological and emotional problems after a stroke | Acute Stroke Unit and rehabilitation team |
| Medical social work | Financial assistance, housing, housework, job arrangement, residential services | Hospital Authority hospitals |
The Smart Patient page records that up to 40% of stroke patients in the acute stage have difficulties in speech or swallowing to different extents, and lists a speech therapist among the follow-up arrangements. The dysphagia diet guide covers texture modified food and thickened fluids.
Not every community provider employs every discipline. The Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation names social workers, a psychological well-being officer, registered nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists, but not speech therapy.
Community rehabilitation after discharge, and home based therapy
Community rehabilitation is therapy delivered after the patient leaves hospital, at a day rehabilitation centre, a geriatric day hospital, or at home.
The Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation runs a short stay home for intensive rehabilitation, day rehabilitation for enhanced training, and home base and carer support training. Its Cheng Tak Yim Day Rehabilitation and Care Centre, established in 2001, provides rehabilitative therapy and nursing care for clients with chronic illnesses such as stroke.
The Social Welfare Department's home-based community care page states that Home Care Services for frail elderly persons aged 60 or above include personal care, nursing care and restorative and maintenance rehabilitation exercise. From 1 April 2026 the Department renamed the Integrated Home Care Services (Frail Case) and the Enhanced Home and Community Care Services as Home Care Services for Frail Elderly Persons. The in-home care guide covers home care teams and private arrangements.
For people with severe disabilities the 2019 written reply describes home based personal care, nursing care and rehabilitation training, with case management and no age limit.
A randomised controlled trial of a four week nurse led transitional care programme recruited 108 stroke patients discharged home in 2010 and 2011 and found significant between-group differences in quality of life in the physical and mental domains in the intervention group. Emergency room use was also lower and was the one use measure that differed significantly. The chronic conditions guide covers longer term follow-up.
How a family arranges and continues therapy after discharge
The Hospital Authority's Smart Patient page describes discharge preparation as a discussion between the patient, the family and the rehabilitation team.
- Draw up a discharge plan with the rehabilitation team.
- Determine the living place, and assess the home facilities, which the team may do in a pre-discharge home visit.
- Select and purchase necessary instruments such as walking aids and domestic care aids.
- Learn the caring skills, including feeding, incontinence care and safe ways to carry the patient, and test them in a brief home stay.
- Obtain the community service information the team introduces, such as elderly homes, financial assistance and home helper arrangements.
- Confirm the follow-up arrangements: consultation, medicine instructions, a speech therapist or dietitian for swallowing problems, rehabilitation training at an out-patient clinic or geriatric day hospital, and a home visit by a community nurse.
The referral route decides which service starts. A community rehabilitation day centre requires a referral from a Hospital Authority medical officer, occupational therapist or physiotherapist. Social Welfare Department home care enquiries can be made at Integrated Family Service Centres and Medical Social Service Units.
Judging a rehabilitation provider's claims, and when therapy can be reduced
How to check what a rehabilitation provider says
- Whether the provider is named as one of the 13 non-governmental home support teams partnered with a named Hospital Authority hospital in 2019.
- Whether it appears on the Social Welfare Department lists of Home Care Services Teams or Home Care and Support Services Teams.
- Whether the page names the disciplines it employs rather than describing therapy in general terms.
- Whether it states the eligibility rule and who makes the referral, such as the stroke and age 15 criteria for community rehabilitation day centres.
- Whether any figure it quotes names its source and the year of the data.
How a decision to reduce or pause therapy is made
No page read for this article states a fixed number of therapy sessions or a fixed end date for stroke rehabilitation in Hong Kong, or a waiting time for community rehabilitation places. The sources state who reviews progress: the rehabilitation team assesses the patient's functions, the care required and the carers' ability. The four week programme in the trial above is a study protocol, not a rule. The Agetide guides section collects the government pages behind each topic.
Common questions
Who provides stroke rehabilitation in Hong Kong?
The Hospital Authority provides acute treatment and inpatient rehabilitation in its hospitals, through an Acute Stroke Unit team and a multi-professional rehabilitation team. Community rehabilitation after discharge comes mainly from non-governmental organisations, Hospital Authority geriatric day hospitals and four Social Welfare Department subvented community rehabilitation day centres.
How soon after a stroke does rehabilitation start?
The Hospital Authority's Smart Patient page states that it is very important to start rehabilitation training as soon as possible, and that the Acute Stroke Unit team provides rehabilitation care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, medical social work and clinical psychological services while the condition stabilises.
Can therapy continue at home after hospital discharge?
Yes. Social Welfare Department Home Care Services for frail elderly persons aged 60 or above include restorative and maintenance rehabilitation exercise, and home based services for people with severe disabilities include rehabilitation training. The Smart Patient page also lists rehabilitation training at an out-patient clinic or geriatric day hospital as a follow-up.
Does a speech therapist help with swallowing after a stroke?
The Hospital Authority's Smart Patient page states that speech therapy helps stroke patients improve their swallowing, communication and verbal expression, and records that up to 40% of stroke patients in the acute stage have difficulties in speech or swallowing to different extents. A speech therapist is on its follow-up list.
Topics
- stroke rehabilitation
- community rehabilitation
- physiotherapy
- occupational therapy
- speech therapy
Related on Agetide
Related guides
Sources
- Hospital Authority. Smart Patient Website: Stroke, Treatments in rehabilitative stage and Preparations before being discharged from the hospital. https://www.smartpatient.ha.org.hk/en/smart-patient-web/disease-management/disease-information/by-body-part/head-and-neck/brain/Stroke. Published: 2024. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- GovHK (Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region). Health Care for the Elderly, Health Centres and Hospitals Targeted at the Elderly. https://www.gov.hk/en/residents/health/healthadvice/healthcare/elderlyhealth.htm. Published: 2026. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- Social Welfare Department. Home-based Community Care and Support Services, Introduction. https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/pubsvc/elderly/cat_commcare/homebase_ccs/index.html. Published: 2026. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. LCQ17: Support for elderly persons and persons with disabilities discharged from hospital, Reply, parts (1) and (4). https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201902/27/P2019022700793.htm. Published: 2019. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- The Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation. Community & Day Care Rehabilitation Services, Core Services. https://www.rehabsociety.org.hk/our-services/comm-day-care. Published: 2026. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
- Health & Social Care in the Community (PubMed). Effects of a 4-week transitional care programme for discharged stroke survivors in Hong Kong: a randomised controlled trial, Abstract. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25470529. Published: 2015. Accessed: 2026-10-14.
Written and edited by the desk collective The Longlight Desk. No individual is named as the author. Agetide editorial standards.
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