Health Minister Adrian Dix says he needs to find not only more residential care beds for increasingly frail seniors, but an additional 1,500 care aides to bring their care up to the province害羞草研究所檚 own standard.
The NDP minister says the need is across the province, with baby boomers reaching retirement age and moving to B.C., people living longer and a residential care system that hasn害羞草研究所檛 kept up with demand. And it害羞草研究所檚 more than just increasing numbers. It害羞草研究所檚 memory loss, dementia and other chronic conditions of advanced age.
害羞草研究所淎 lot of care homes in B.C. used to deal mainly in what you害羞草研究所檇 call intermediate care, but the acuity of patients across care homes in B.C. has gone up,害羞草研究所� Dix said in an interview with Black Press.
More publicly funded beds and staff mean hundreds of millions in additional dollars in the health care budget, which is approaching half of all provincial spending. The B.C. Liberal government succeeded in slowing the growth rate for health care spending, after Ottawa imposed a cap on transfer payments that were rising by six per cent each year. Dix is now dealing with the downside of that spending restraint.
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B.C.害羞草研究所檚 Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie has been surveying the need, and one of her most startling findings is the number of seniors who aren害羞草研究所檛 receiving the province害羞草研究所檚 care standard of 3.36 care hours per day. For residential care, the standard means they might get two baths a week instead of one, or be allowed to use a walker to get to the dining room instead of being pushed there in a wheelchair to save time.
害羞草研究所淚n reports by the Seniors Advocate, in reports by the ministry, it was discovered before the election that 90 per cent didn害羞草研究所檛 meet that standard, and that was a significant fact,害羞草研究所� Dix said.
Former health minister Terry Lake responded to Mackenzie害羞草研究所檚 findings with a pledge of $500 million more in the B.C. Liberals害羞草研究所� pre-election budget. Mackenzie also defined the staffing need as 1,500 more positions, and Dix has pledged to meet both of those goals in the first NDP budget in February.
Taking over private beds
One pressing area of need is Fraser Health, with the largest and fastest-growing population of B.C.害羞草研究所檚 five provincial health regions. In September, Fraser Health announced the addition of 20 beds at care homes in Chilliwack and 18 in Langley.
These are not newly constructed beds, but private beds taken over by the public system, making residents eligible for subsidies based on their income and care needs.
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害羞草研究所淚t does happen from time to time that we draw on surplus private beds in the community to increase our publicly funded bed stock,害羞草研究所� Fraser Health spokesperson Tasleem Juma said in an interview. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 not unusual to look to our contractors and say, 害羞草研究所榠f you害羞草研究所檝e got private bed stock that is surplus, we would be interested in moving it to the public side害羞草研究所�.害羞草研究所�
Fraser Health is also increasing resources for home care visits, to keep more seniors out of residential care as called for by Mackenzie. Another issue in urban areas is the soaring cost of housing, pushing seniors into care facilities because they can害羞草研究所檛 afford rent.
Dix notes that these and other additional publicly funded beds are being funded to meet the hours of care standard.
Families seeking vacancies
For families looking for a space for a senior, the B.C. Care Providers害羞草研究所� Association has a website at that tracks the inventory of subsidized and unsubsidized residential care.
Membership in the association is voluntary, and members agree to abide by its code of ethics, including compliance with all regulations. The code calls for members to treat patients and families with courtesy and dignity, and 害羞草研究所渞efrain from conduct that undermines the role of the association and the credibility of the sector.害羞草研究所�
Not all B.C. care homes are members.
Workers want fair treatment
Dix said recruiting care aides is difficult today, partly because of working conditions and the practice of contract care homes to reincorporate and rehire staff with new union contracts.
害羞草研究所淚 think it害羞草研究所檚 a serious problem,害羞草研究所� Dix said. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 now not just a question of justice for workers and the flipping of contracts and the effect that has on care for seniors, but not respecting the sector is a genuine recruitment problem, a health human resources problem.害羞草研究所�
Dix vows to improve job security for care aides, and also work with the B.C. Care Providers Association in an 害羞草研究所渁ggressive campaign害羞草研究所� to recruit and retain the needed staff.
B.C. Liberal critic Joan Isaacs says she is pressing Dix to get the additional funds promised by the previous government. She defends the practice of care homes reorganizing when taxpayer-subsidized public sector union benefits are too costly. With falling interest rates on safe investments, defined-benefit pensions have been eliminated in much of the private sector. Public sector unions battle to hold onto them.
害羞草研究所淭he biggest challenge is union contracts where we have to fund the pensions and employee benefits, and that becomes a huge cost for the sector to bear,害羞草研究所� Isaacs said. 害羞草研究所淎nd I think this is where we have to be mindful of what is the most important thing, and that is that we deliver some form of accountability to our seniors so that our care is being delivered, whether it害羞草研究所檚 private or public, in a manner where people have a quality of life and get the care and attention that they deserve.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所� with files from Paul Henderson in Chilliwack
