The BC Care Providers Association (BCCPA) today released a series of proposals to provincial and regional health authorities aimed at improving the quality, transparency and efficiency of the BC seniors' care system. The submission follows recent media reports and BC Legislature debates regarding challenges facing care providers, seniors and their families. It also represents an update to the comprehensive Action Plan BCCPA submitted to the government in 2009.
"Our members are very committed to ensure BC seniors in residential care and home support receive the best quality of care possible," said BCCPA President Mary McDougall. "In addition to building on positive patient satisfaction survey results for residential care, these proposals reflect ideas from front-line care providers and advance specific strategies to further improve the quality of care seniors in BC deserve".
The BCCPA quality and efficiency proposals include:
- Wait Times: Establishment of a maximum time for seniors to wait in hospitals for community residential care or home support services
- Prevent Elder Abuse: Improve the BC Care Aide Registry to better protect seniors
- Standardize Reporting: Patient satisfaction surveys across BC for residential care should be improved and based on Fraser Health Authority model
- Disclosure: Release complete funding levels for residential care facilities in BC - including health authority operated sites
- User Fees: Ensure 100% of new BC user fees for seniors are reinvested in residential care and to improve staffing levels across the province
- Red-Tape: Simplify and improve multi-levels of reporting, licensing, accreditation, quality assurance and inter-RAI MDS processes
- Value for Taxpayers: Strengthen effectiveness and fairness of public tendering process for new residential care beds to ensure maximum value for taxpayers
- Human Resources: Promote the use of nurse practitioners in seniors residential care facilities and best practices to improve retention of care aides
- Family Councils: Enhance the use of resident/family councils to improve communication at facilities and quality of care
"In addition to ongoing government investment, the quality of our seniors care system depends on our ability to collaborate and innovate," said BCCPA CEO Ed Helfrich. "We look forward to working in the coming year with the Minister and health authorities across the province to strengthen our seniors care partnership and address oncoming challenges associated with the aging of our society."
BCCPA officials will be following up with the Minister, MLAs and health care leaders in the coming days to arrange meetings and follow-up on the proposals with a view to implementing many of these ideas in 2012.
