Editor:
In the June 10 article, “Mixed reviews for VCH long-term care plan,” Seniors Advocate Isobel McKenzie demonstrates her disconnect with the issues of long-term care. Either she has been misinformed by her ministry, or both she and the ministry are purposefully misleading the public by co-mingling the terms “senior” and “long-term care resident.” These are not synonymous.
McKenzie is pleased that the “important recommendations” for residential care are being implemented. She informs us that rooms with ensuite baths and showers are a very positive step in the right direction. The presentation of this fantasy is either a ploy to delude seniors and gain their support, or it’s a reflection of how out of touch the ministry is with the needs in residential care. Yes, a senior would enjoy an ensuite tub and bath, as would we all, but for 99 per cent of long-term care residents, it’s meaningless. They cannot get up in the morning and help themselves to a hot shower or lounge in a warm bath before bed. If their ensuites aren’t large enough to accommodate equipment and care staff to assist, they won’t be used at all. Other residents will use their private gems once a week for their assisted 15-minute bath. For a large part, the ensuites will pose a safety risk locked behind yet another closed door.
Supplying and maintaining 120 private tubs and showers to people who cannot use them is something only our government would try to sell to its constituents as a “step in the right direction.”
Designing and building multi-million-dollar care facilities before first identifying the needs of the end users reeks of a money grab, which will incur huge financial cost, waste resources and result in insurmountable shortfalls in meeting the needs of the community.
A government working hand in hand with a corporation, where neither has full accountability and both put financial interest ahead of public interest, truly leaves us on a ship without a sail. Much like our ferry fiasco, the government forges ahead with its private mandate despite their lack of expertise, foresight and insight. They simply don’t care about the impact on the public. This time around, the impact may run much deeper than a missed sailing.
A few years down the road, news headlines might read, “Government mistakenly identifies residential care facility needs for those of seniors’ housing,” “Public pays the cost of multi-million-dollar refits and repurposing projects,” “Lawyers for Trellis confirm their client holds no responsibility.”
Phyllis Parsons, retired LPN, Burnaby
