Have we reached a turning point for seniors care?
The seniors’ care report released last week by B. C.’ s Ombudsperson has made the clearest case yet that the challenges of our aging society are no longer falling at the feet of future leaders. They are here today.
By providing a roadmap to improve the quality, efficiency and transparency of the public system for families and front- line care providers, Kim Carter’s report represents a turning point for seniors care in B. C.
Among other things, the Ombudsperson’s investigation confirms realities B. C. care providers have been raising for years.
• Hundreds of seniors are waiting too long in B. C. hospitals for placement into residential care beds — and it is having a negative impact on their health.
• Health authorities are not meeting the maximum community care wait time or residential care staffing targets they have set.
• Health Authorities pay themselves more to provide the same complex residential care services than contracted providers.
• Historic funding anomalies need to be addressed and a consistent model should be established that considers the needs of seniors, actual costs, taxes and capital expenses.
• New user fees the province has collected from seniors over the past two years have not returned to facilities for enhanced staffing as promised.
While the Ombudsperson has provided a template for service improvement, only the government’s response will ensure a more effective seniors care system.
The Seniors Care Action Plan released by the B. C. Health Minister last week demonstrates the government is taking the issue seriously and interested in the concerns care providers have been raising — particularly as it relates to ongoing staff training, transparency and inefficiencies in the current system.
However, the new Ministry Action Plan steers clear of specific solutions that can only be addressed through the government’s budget process.
The Ombudsperson’s Report confirms more long- term care beds are needed to meet growing demand. In contrast, she points out that as a percentage of their overall funding, health authorities’ spending on residential care has actually decreased from 19 per cent in 2003 to 16.3 per cent in 2010. The total number of subsidized residential beds also decreased. There were 1,748 fewer in 2011 than 2006.
The Ombudsperson confirms the average wait time for seniors’ residential care in the Fraser Health Authority has doubled since 2008. In the B. C. Interior, the average wait is more than two months – surpassed only by Vancouver Island where seniors wait an average of three months for long- term care.
The Alzheimer Society of Canada estimates that over the next 30 years the demand for long- term care for dementia patients will increase by over 10 times the 2008 demand. The number of British Columbians with dementia is expected to increase by 47 per cent over the next 15 years. Where will they be cared for?
The Interior Health Authority is in the process of constructing over 500 new residential care beds. What is the government’s plan for new facilities in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island? Will funding finally be allocated to achieve the ministry’s long- established 2013 staffing targets? Will this week’s budget answer these questions?
A Fraser Health survey of 3,000 families with loved ones in residential care concluded that over 90 per cent were satisfied with the quality of direct care, nursing and administration services they were receiving.
However, the Ombudsperson has exposed a system that is on the verge of becoming as frail as the seniors it serves. Can high- quality seniors care be sustained for the incoming wave of seniors?
The Ombudsperson’s report confirms the answer is no — as long as the status quo prevails. It will be incumbent on all parties to ensure that the necessary changes are implemented quickly.