Cross Canada Checkup Take a deep breath in…breathe out

With three province’s recently having elections, two re-electing their respective governments and the third voting a new party to power, I thought looking through the ontario Liberal’s, Newfoundland and Labrador conservative’s and the Saskatchewan Party’s platforms for their positions on senior care would be a good way to conduct a “check-up” on the state of senior’s issues in canada.

Since I live in Ontario I took a look at the Liberal electoral promises fi rst. What I saw wasn’t too surprising. We will:

• Support Ontario seniors who want to stay in their own homes with an easy-to-access basket of services.
• Improve the level of care in long-term care homes with 2,000 new nurses.
• Build 35,000 long-term care beds over 10 years and,
• Help families with the cost of taking care of an aging parent/ relative at home.
• Create a new homeowners grant for seniors who have trouble paying their property taxes, to help them stay at home.
• Help families with the cost of caring for an aging parent or relative, by making it easier to qualify for and doubling the value of the caregiver tax credit.

Okay, this is all great, if I’m planning on caring for both my parents at home, but what about increasing fi nancial support for families unable to take on this burden of care?

Is allowing for 2,000 new nurses in long-term care homes really improving the level of care or, when you account for baby boomer retirements, does it maintain the status quo?

Will 35,000 new long-term care beds over the next decade be enough to house the more than 2 million Ontarians who will, according to the 2006 census, be in the ‘long-term care age bracket’ by that time?

What about facility upgrades? Educational incentives for staff? Funding for program initiatives? Purchasing new medical equipment and other technology?

The Liberal platform of “Moving Forward Together” fails to move anything forward for seniors in this province.

Feeling wholly unsatisfi ed by the “promises” the Liberal government has made for Ontarians, I skeptically turned to the Newfoundland Conservatives. Perhaps they would pay greater attention to the needs of their seniors. Boy, did they have a lot to say!:

“We are especially committed to improving the lives of our seniors, many of whom face signifi cant barriers to enjoyment – concerns about health, housing, income, violence and crime. We as a society have a moral obligation to help our elders face such challenges with dignity, grace, compassion and the reassurance that they are secure…. (W)e are determined to ensure our people in their golden years can live self-fulfi lling lives in a community of friends where they can pursue new opportunities with freedom and joy while appreciating the comfort of a strong social support network.”

Amen! This is more like it.

The platform includes the following highlights:

• Develop a strategy to prepare for the health care realities and challenges associated with increased numbers of seniors.
• Work to eradicate elder abuse.
• Launch a chronic disease prevention and management strategy that includes chronic pain management; partner to reduce chronic diseases and conditions and ensure that health promotion is age inclusive.
• Establish programs and standards for end-of-life care and improve the quality of life for seniors.
• Continue to redevelop and modernize the province’s longterm care homes.
• Review and redevelop standards for long-term care homes, personal care homes and home support services to achieve greater accountability.
• Consult with seniors to develop innovative ways to identify housing solutions for the elderly to advance their autonomy.

Admittedly, Newfoundland and Labrador has a smaller population then Ontario and is therefore able to do more with its fi nances, but it also has a large aging population that needs to be cared for since most young Newfoundlanders have left that province.

I then turned to the prairies, where recent newspaper clippings point to an economic boom on Saskatchewan’s horizon. In fact a Winnipeg Free Press article earlier this year noted that the province’s infrastructure needs improvement in anticipation of a burgeoning population.

The Saskatchewan Party’s platform alludes to this growth:

“Is it time for a new government with new ideas to grow our economy, keep our young people in Saskatchewan, fi x our ailing health care system and make sure Saskatchewan takes its place as a leader in Canada?” The answer to this question appears to be a resounding yes!

Having won 50.92% of the vote in the November, 2007 election, Saskatchewan Party’s aggressive healthcare platform includes a substantial section on senior care initiatives, including:

• A $15 cap on prescription drugs for seniors with incomes under $64,000;
• Identifying and addressing gaps in the current continuum of care provided through homecare, community care and long-term care;
• Improving the co-ordination of long-term care beds to allow senior couples to stay together;
• Working with the federal government to increase long-term care capacity on First Nation reserves;
• And the creation of a pilot project to reduce waiting times for Level Three and Level Four beds in personal care homes.

Bravo Saskatchewan!

In reality only time will tell if these governments will follow through on their election promises. Sadly, Canadians are too used to election promises without action.

Step up Newfoundland and Saskatchewan, show the rest of our political leaders what change to healthcare, and senior care in specifi c, means!

Take a deep breath in…now breathe out. Great, that checkup wasn’t so bad now, was it?