Canada needs a national senior healthcare strategy, the absence of which would place a greater burden not only on the elderly but also on their caregivers and the rest of the nation.
This is according to the Canadian Medical Association (CMA). The organization’s newly released 2013 National Report Card on health issues shows that as many as 85% of Canadians think the country needs a comprehensive long-term and home-care framework for seniors—given that the aging baby boomers are increasing pressure on the healthcare system. Canada has the world’s biggest group of baby boomers.
Representatives of the country’s physicians agree that such a strategy has to become a federal priority because the current situation is unsustainable. “Most Canadians don’t realize that, in many places in the country, it’s very difficult to get appropriate [senior] healthcare outside of hospitals,” said Dr. Anna Reid, CMA president, in an interview. Services such as home-based care are often inadequate, she explained.
But choosing hospitals for conditions that don’t require it is the more expensive option. It costs $842 a day to provide hospital care—compared with $126 a day for care in a long-term care facility, according to the CMA.
“Of course, making it easier for elderly Canadians to stay at home while getting the care they need would be the preferred and most cost-effective option,” the organization says in a press release.
Ninety-three percent of Canadians believe that a national strategy that allows the elderly to remain home as long as possible would improve the whole system because it would lighten the load on hospitals and long-term care facilities, according to the CMA survey, which polled 1,000 people in July.
Additional benefits
In addition to strengthening the entire healthcare system, improving services for the elderly would also reduce their personal expenses, said Reid, explaining that seniors often incur hospital treatment costs.
And many seniors already have budgetary pressures. A recent CIBC poll found that 59% of retired Canadians carry debt, with 19% saying they’ve accumulated more over the past year. Paying off debt in retirement could be particularly difficult given the reliance on a fixed income.
A Canada-wide strategy would also help seniors’ family caregivers, said Reid, explaining that right now they are under great strain. “It’s a huge pressure—time pressure, emotional pressure and financial pressure,” she said.
And when caregivers are employed, this pressure often collides with work responsibilities, resulting in lower productivity and higher absenteeism for companies, according to a 2012National Study on Balancing Work and Caregiving in Canada conducted by professors at Carleton University and Western University.
Almost one-quarter of polled Canadians spend time each week in eldercare, the work/life study shows. The average amount of time they dedicate is 6.9 hours a week.
This conflicts with their demands at work, driving up absenteeism and stifling productivity. The academic survey reveals that last year, work/life challenges caused 25% of employees to be absent from work more often. Work/life conflict also caused 22% of workers to reduce their work productivity.
Solution
So how can Canada introduce a comprehensive national system of healthcare for seniors?
“It’s a matter of looking at how we spend our money,” said Reid. “If we don’t want to bankrupt the healthcare system, we better start using our money in more efficient ways.”
This involves eliminating situations where, due to lack of options, hospitals end up being the primary care venues for a lot of patients, according to Reid.
Another part of the solution is including the federal government in the equation. The CMA report shows that 89% of Canadians think a national strategy should involve the federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments.
Currently, only provincial and municipal governments are on the front lines of senior healthcare delivery, which many Canadians expect to rely on in their golden years. Sixty percent of CMA respondents anticipate that they will depend on a public system if there is ever a need for home or long-term care during their retirement years.
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