BC govt fail in long term care bed

caesar · April 5, 2005

Government fails on long-term care beds
April 04, 2005 - 10:13 am

By: Jim Goddard

A damning report on the provincial government's handling of long-term care beds has just been released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The study suggests the government has failed miserably. The provinical government admitted it has failed to reach its goal of 5,000 new residential and long term care beds. Not only that, but the study shows a decrease of nearly 1,500 beds. Combined with the closure of more than 12,000 hospital beds, you now know why we have a big crunch in hospital wards, simply because there is nowhere to move ailing seniors. According to the study, BC now has the lowest level of access to residential care in Canada. We are now 13 percent below the national average.

BC Health care devastated by BC Liberals.

despite higher premiums and much higher prescrpition costs for senior.

Thanks a lot Campbell.

Sully · April 12, 2005

BC Health care devastated by BC Liberals.
despite higher premiums and much higher prescrpition costs for senior.

Thanks a lot Campbell.

Devastated eh Caesar, you are so dramatic.

Who would do a better job of managing the health care system, the NDP, hahahahaha......

Under the NDP let me remind you , health care waits increased, beds were closed, and the big difference is that we paid alot more for that failing system under the NDP.

Now with the Liberals running the show we pay a lot less for that same crappy system. Sounds smart to me.

To address that seniors issue, (btw are you a senior?) complain to your MP that BC does not get enough in Federal transfers. BC is a retirement destination for many Canadian and recent immigrant seniors and therefore we see a large growth in that population segment. This segment is a huge user of drugs and users of the system, why should they not pay like the rest of us, and no I am not proposing huge fees, but yes they can pay too.

IF only BC could have a say in who is allowed into BC as far as immigrants goes? (They cannot do this with Canadian citizens, Charter protects them) If you are not healthy then you should pay for use of the system or not be allowed in (I guess this is solely a Federal issue, too bad tho, nothing will be done on this issue by the Federal Liberals, cannot go against a large portion of their voter base). Also I am basing these propositions on purely financial terms. If you have never paid into the system, you should not be allowed to use it without large user fees.

As BC's economy and financial position improves, more money will be earmarked for Health Care and hopefully it will be used in an efficient manner.

justcrowing · April 18, 2005

http://www.bcliberals.com/ndp_-_the_real_story/

Quote NDP: "Our province needs a dramatic and immediate increase in the number of long-term care beds that provide complex care around the clock. This is the only way we can relieve the stress on our hospital's acute care wards and emergency room backlogs."

MISLEADING. To relieve pressure on our hospitals, we need to invest in new hospitals (NDP never did; we are – eg., new Abbotsford Hospital), technology, preventative health care, and skilled health professionals (who the NDP drove out of the province).

The NDP platform says NOTHING about building new hospitals, investing in technology, supporting preventative health care, or training and recruiting skilled health professionals.

FACT: Under the NDP, wait times for a residential care bed was as much as 1 year. Today average wait times for residential care are a fraction of that: ranging from 30 to 90 days. Our approach is working.

Quote NDP: "To date the BC Liberals have not made a single announcement to build long-term care beds. Instead they are building assisted-living units, offering rent supplements and home support."

WRONG. Examples of residential care bed projects:

· 50 new complex care beds and 30 units for seniors with dementia at Gibsons (27 Sept 2004)

· 155 new residential care beds at South Surrey Seniors Village (1 April 2005)

· 30 new residential care beds at Hilton Villa in Surrey (14 April 2005)

· 94 new residential care beds at Laurel Place in Surrey (14 April 2005)

· 60 residential care and 40 dementia beds at Village by the Station in Penticton.

· 46 specialized psycho-geriatric beds at Sandringham care centre in Victoria. (8 Mar 2005)

· Redeveloping Simpson Private Hospital (Langley) including 40 additional beds (announced April 6, 2005)

· And more….

Quote NDP: "But assisted living units do nothing to help seniors waiting in hospital beds because they require long-term complex care."

WRONG. Having more options like assisted-living units helps free up residential care beds for those seniors who need them.

Proof that this approach is working is in the reduction in wait times for residential care beds. Under the NDP, wait times were as much as 1 year – today, average wait time is 30-90 days.

We believe that seniors want a range of options from assisted-living to home care to residential care. Seniors want a system that fits their needs. The NDP wants a one-size-fits-all program where seniors have no options but institutionalized residential care beds.

sfcuervo · May 11, 2005

The major problem with health care is that there are too many chiefs and not enough indians. Prime example that I can think of is Golden's hospital. They kept closing beds there, and in place offices were built. If they are closing beds then what do they need the offices for???? And it definitely wasn't the Liberals that did this. In a decade of the NDP being in power, what did they do for long-term care???? .....................ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!!!!!

I hate to say it justcrowing, but you are totally out to lunch on this. The Liberals have tried to fix in the last four years what the NDP took a decade to destroy. To say that the Liberals broke their promises is right. I agree with you on that. But if they didn't, the province wouldn't be any better off than it was four years ago. The NDP started this mess!!! Remember that on May 17th.

sfcuervo · May 11, 2005

My appologies to justcrowing. It was caesar who made the initial comments. caesar is out to lunch.

fellowtraveller · May 12, 2005

The management of acute care beds is always a political football, unfortunately. Decisions regarding hospitalclosures, downsizings and increases should be made with three criteria in mind:

1, lifespan of BC residents- will changing the nmer of beds affect the average lifespan of residents?

quality of life issues - will change materially affect the quality of life for anybody?

geography- health care must be available to all, but it is unreasonable for small town /rural residents to expect the same timeliness and level of care as somebody living next to a major hospital. That's a lifestyle choice with consequences.

Alberta reviewed these criteria in the early 90s and learned that the province had 50% more acute care beds per capita than both BC and Ontario. Did Alberta residaents live longer or better than those in other provinces. Of course not, so what was the point of those extra beds?