York region - Waiting game

Waiting game

Bill Roberts

Nurse Shelley Kent chats with Aurora Resthaven Long Term Care Centre resident Olive Quantz, 94, at the Aurora facility, which is full and has a lengthy waiting list.

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Regional News

November 08, 2008 07:48 PM

More than 22,000 Ontarians waiting for long-term care bed
By: Teresa Latchford

Be prepared to wait for a spot in a long-term care facility.

Ontario’s long-term care facilities are 99-per-cent full, creating a waiting list of more than 22,000 who need a bed, according to a report by the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care.

It is disappointing the government has yet to address the ongoing problem, health critic Elizabeth Witmer said.

“Progress is happening at a snail’s pace,” she said. “As time lapses, Ontario will fall further behind other jurisdictions delivering much higher levels of personal care.”

Long-term care residents in Ontario receive 2.6 hours of personal care a day, compared to the three or more in Alberta, Manitoba and New Brunswick, she explained. Homes are short-staffed due to lack of resources to hire more help to provide proper care, causing workers to become exhausted, she continued.

Aurora Resthaven, one of the largest long-term care facilities in the area with 240 beds, is full and holding a lengthy waiting list of seniors needing care, administrator Edith Schultz said, adding there are no plans to expand.

“There have been no announcements from the government about adding more beds and they are the ones who make the decisions,” she said.

Although resident health and well-being is a priority at the facility and quality care is provided, Mrs. Schultz said it could provide even better care with the funding other provinces provide.

The staff goes above and beyond what is asked, without compensation, including completing extra tasks and visiting residents outside of their scheduled shifts.

With homes at capacity, the senior population requiring care has to turn to alternatives, including moving in with family members, paying for a private facility or in-home assistance on a fixed income or taking up an acute care bed in a hospital.

York Region is one of the fastest growing urban municipalities in the province, with the 65 and older population expected to increase 20 per cent, reaching over 300,000 by 2031.

With increasing need for long-term beds by an aging population, Helena Jaczek, Oak Ridges MPP and former chief medical officer in York Region, said it is not an issue she and other MPPs in the region take lightly.

“Some areas are shrinking in the province, but we are growing and we deserve our fair share,” she said. “We are talking to the premier and it is something we are hammering home.”

Recently, Premier Dalton McGuinty attended a Richmond Hill Chamber of Commerce event, where a spokesperson from York Central Hospital pointed out an increase in long-term beds would free up acute care beds in the local hospitals, Mrs. Jaczek explained.

With the report exposing the need for improving residents’ quality of care, the focus has been on efforts to do so, however, Mrs. Jaczek said the Liberal government has already committed to adding $300 million to the pot for long-term facilities for this fiscal year and the hiring of 4,500 nursing and support workers over the next four years.

“The economy is not limitless out there,” she said. “The commitment is there, but the task is daunting here.”

The province should create a plan of action to enhance long-term care, Mrs. Witmer suggested, which must include;

• A sector-wide staffing increase of 4,500 full-time position rolled out this year;

• Expediting the redevelopment of Ontario’s 35,000 oldest long-term care beds by providing adequate support and funding;

• Achieving an average of three hours of personal care, per day, within the next year;

• Prioritizing the more than 400 regulations governing nursing homes;

• Creating a plan that includes benchmarks to reduce waiting lists and;

• An increase for operating costs so homes can deliver the housekeeping, laundry, maintenance and other services that enhance resident care.

By the numbers

In 2001, 63 per cent of York Region seniors were 65 to 74, decreasing to 58 per cent by 2006.
In 2001, 37 per cent of York Region seniors were 75 and older, increasing to 42 per cent in 2006.
In 2001, 69 per cent of seniors lived with their spouse or children, increasing to 71 per cent in 2006.
Of those who did not live with a spouse or children, 53 per cent lived alone, 43 per cent lived with relatives and 4 per cent with non-relatives.
In 2006, the majority of seniors, 73 per cent, lived in Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan.

Are you or a loved one on a waiting list or are you providing long-term care for a loved one? Tell us about it. Contact Teresa Latchford at 905-853-8888 or tlatchford@yrmg.com

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