The following are messages directed to our members from the leaders of the three main provincial political parties.
Message to BC Care Providers Association from NDP Leader Carole James
New Democrats share the BC Care Providers Association's concerns that funding levels for residential care have not kept up with the growing and complex demands of an aging society.
There has been a dramatic change in the acuity of residents since 2002 and we are aware that care providers are now admitting residents with multiple complex care needs. Low staffing levels is a key issue to be addressed in order to improve the quality of residential care for seniors.
BC is also now in the unenviable position of having the lowest number of care beds per capita in all of Canada. Changes must be forthcoming to the community care sector to address the quality of care and increase the capacity of residential care in order to ensure a good quality of life for older British Columbians.
New Democrats will take action to ensure that care levels are appropriate to the growing acuity of patients. There is ample evidence showing that higher levels of direct care result in improved quality outcomes for patients. We will also take action to deal with declining access to residential care and services.
Finally, New Democrats will appoint a Seniors' Representative to monitor the performance of various programs and services for seniors to ensure services are integrated, coordinated, non-discriminatory and accountable. For more information our full platform is posted at www.bcndp.ca. We look forward to working with care providers to improve the quality of care for British Columbia's seniors.
Message to BC Care Providers from BC Liberal Party Leader Gordon Campbell
Working in partnership with organizations, including the BC Care Providers Association
(BCCPA), our government has built almost 6,000 net new units of seniors' care, and upgraded or replaced thousands more.
With the projected aging population, we will continue to focus on expanding this sector through partnerships. As a foundation of this ongoing partnership, BCCPA asked government for a standardized residential care contract province-wide. The work to establish such a contract is in its final stages and we are committed to following it through to completion.
Our government funded the implementation of internationally recognized assessment tools to improve planning and assess the care needs of residents. We are committed to continuing to work with BCCPA toward a standardized approach to funding based on these needs.
We will continue to build upon the successful partnership with BCCPA to expand training opportunities to work with seniors in community-based settings, including residential care aides and community health workers.
Stability and certainty are important for government and for your members as well, especially at a time of global economic uncertainty. Our government has committed 90 per cent of all budgeted new government spending to health care over the next three years, to support and build our health care system -- including seniors' care.
We will continue to support partnerships with all sectors, non-profit and for-profit alike. Our record in supporting public healthcare is unmatched by any former government and we are proud to carry that record forward.
Message to BC Care Providers Association from BC Green Party Leader Jane Sterk
The Green Party of BC supports the importance of adequately funding the facilities that provide critical and complex health services to people, primarily frail seniors, who are in residential care.
We support the position of the BC Care Providers that the issues of too low staffing levels, inadequate and differential funding between public and private service providers and lack of transparency in decision-making regarding per-diem rates for patients deserves a thorough review and the development of an alternate framework to the current model to deal with residential care provision. The Green Party supports establishing:
* High standards for care
* Improved oversight by health authorities
* Minimum staffing levels
* Qualifications for staff and
* Regular inspection of facilities with clear guidelines for remediation of deficiencies.
Greens believe that per diem funding needs to be based on the level of care that individual patients require so that residents receive appropriate care regardless of the facility in which they reside.
As a first step, the Green Party would convene a stakeholder committee to review the issues of residential care provision. This group would be charged with addressing the recommendations of the BC Care Providers Association as well as establishing standards of care, ways to measure service provision that ensure standards are maintained and the development of best practices for residential care.
BC Greens would also institute a health ombudsperson, to investigate and attempt to resolve complaints and problems, ensuring fairness and equitable access to health services and resolving patient care issues.
