Editor:
Despite my own chronic health problems as a senior, I have been a caregiver for a loved one for 10 years. As many people know, the Sunshine Coast has a serious shortage of long-term care beds, with only two facilities that can offer full-time care for compromised elders.
I recently posted my concerns on our FYI community site and more than 100 people replied, describing their own difficult situations. At the Seniors Centre Caregiver Support Meetings, many more people describe their struggles. They are working more than 36 unpaid hours a week caring for relatives or partners with dementia, blindness, physical disabilities, mental challenges and/or chronic illness. As at-home caregivers, we are expected to be full-time nurses, regardless of our lack of skills or youthful energy and possibly our own compromised health.
Visual impairment and urinary incontinence require constant supervision and hands-on support. These needs demand high physical and emotional investment and place a tremendous burden on the caring relatives who are often elders themselves. Many carers, in their 80s, don’t have the physical or emotional strength to endure multiple years of offering help, despite their love for their relatives. Many of the people who responded to my post, like me, have a chronic illness, yet we’re still expected to attend to the endless needs of a frail elder with multiple issues.
The result? Caregiver fatigue, which includes exhaustion, stress and declining over all health. This is a well-documented consequence of prolonged caregiving, especially when it involves complex care.
The current situation on the Coast is not sustainable. Widespread caregiver burnout is imminent.
Compared to the province overall, the Sunshine Coast has a higher percentage of people over age 65. We are failing to look after the caregivers and their relatives in need.
We need innovative solutions, and we need them now!
There will be a meeting for caregivers and relatives on June 30 at High Beam Dreams, 350 Glassford Road, Gibsons, at 5:30 p.m. We hope to brainstorm new ideas in a safe environment. Please come with constructive suggestions and community-minded solutions.
Evi Blueth
Gibsons