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The expected new health care funding agreement between the federal and provincial governments represents a significant opportunity to address longstanding concerns with seniors care funding in Canada.
With premiers across the country slated to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week to negotiate a new health funding agreement, there is an opportunity to address the concerns that we have been facing in our nursing homes for decades. We need to address widespread staffing shortages, reverse decades of underfunding and make long overdue investments in our infrastructure.
These issues have pushed our already stretched care networks to the limit and challenge the ability of homes to meet increasing demand. The challenges are not unique to New Brunswick, they are national problems and require a coordinated response.
Statistics Canada projects the proportion of the Canadian population aged 65 and older will grow to one in four by 2051. We know that New Brunswick has one of the oldest populations in the country, with 2.5 per cent of our province’s population over the age of 85. This is particularly worrying as we know one in four seniors over the age of 85 live in congregate care settings.
The demand for senior care services is only going to increase, with particular demands on our nursing homes, but there’s currently no plan to prepare for this surge in demand — or even to deal with the current demand. The wait list to move into a nursing home in New Brunswick is close to its record high, with more than 800 people waiting.
This cannot continue. For too long, the care of seniors has taken a back seat to other areas of the health system. With a new injection of federal funding, there is an opportunity to address persistent funding inequality and improve care for seniors – whether at home, in their community or in a nursing home.
There are three main challenges we must tackle to develop a sustainable and high-quality system.
We need to update our aging homes to ensure seniors can live in a modern and safe home and continue to invest in infrastructure over the long-term.
We need to invest in training, education and retention programs, to ensure we have the staff we need to provide care both now and into the future.
We need to develop a long-term funding approach that allows homes to invest in quality resident-centred care, as well as improve areas such as food and nutrition, and social and recreational activities – the work that make homes more welcoming for our residents.
Governments across the country need to listen to the experts and those most affected by underinvestment. Residents, their families, staff and nursing home operators are all willing to work with the government to deliver on a quality, long-term vision for quality care.
If they listen, they will hear one thing clearly - the status quo is not working.
Solving these problems isn’t simple and won’t happen overnight, but the new funding agreement is an opportunity we cannot afford to pass by.
We hope that Premier Higgs — and indeed, premiers across the country — take this once-in-a-decade chance. Seniors in New Brunswick deserve to be made an equal priority in our health system, we as a collective will accept no less.
This Op Ed was written by Julie Weir, and Jodi Hall, CALTC CEO. It was published as a featured article in the Telegraph Journal.
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