A report called into question the adequacy of seniors' health care in the province Feb. 14, making 176 recommendations to address what critics have called a "crisis" in B.C.
Ombudsperson Kim Carter released her 400-plus-page report highlighting concerns across a broad spectrum of seniors' health care issues, including access to information, prevention of abuse, equal treatment and the role of in-home care services.
"We need to provide a renewed commitment to some of the most deserving and vulnerable members of our communities," Carter was quoted as saying in a release that accompanied her report.
One of the major areas that Carter said required improvement, in-home care services, has been cited by both health care advocates and officials as a potential pathway to both improved service quality and a more effective use of tax dollars.
"Anything we can do to support seniors in their homes as opposed to more expensive facilities, then that's something that should be encouraged," said Dr. Paul Martiquet, the local medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health.
According to Martiquet, a hospital bed generally costs around $1,000 per day.
Combined with the preventative capacity of in-home services, the desire of seniors to be able to enjoy the comforts of home and the growth of the older demographic on the Coast, "it's important that we plan to basically provide for the need that's coming at us," Martiquet said.
On the same day Carter's report was released, the provincial government released its plan to improve the quality of care that seniors receive.
The proposed initiatives include launching a 24-hour nursing telephone line by this April, an expansion of pilot home support services and other programs that aim to prevent abuse and keep seniors more informed.
While health authorities are expected by the province to spend more than $2.5 billion on home and community care services this year, seniors' care advocates have called into question the government's commitment to making improvements.
Marcy Cohen, a health researcher with Simon Fraser University, whose areas of expertise include home and community-based care options, said government needs to put more dollars into these services, in order to take pressure away from hospitals.
"The problem's been pointed out over the years and it's only getting worse. What it means if they don't address it, is people end up in emergency," Cohen said. "Now we're in a fiscally tight situation. It's not going to get better by avoiding it longer."
She described the province's Feb. 14 plan as a "vague promise" to put in place quality standards that deal with issues like a lack of a complaints process or the difficulty seniors might face when accessing information that is relevant to them.
Here on the Coast, the need for more in-home care is a glaring one for Jef Keighley, chair of the Sunshine Coast Senior Citizens organization.
"Our situation is comparably worse than in most areas, which at best is generally poor," Keighley said, pointing to the higher average age of Coasters compared to other regions in the province. "I don't think there are enough people speaking out about what is a serious problem."
Keighley echoed his feeling that in-home care services are more humane, cost effective and capable of producing better results while involving the family.
But, like Cohen, his feeling is that the road to improvement is one that includes a resource demand that gets worse before it gets better.
"In layman's terms, you could conceive of home care as the 'Draino' needed to unclog the acute care hospital system," he said.
Carter's report, Best of Care, can be found at www.ombudsman.bc.ca.
