Canada: NDP pledges more help for seniors with home care and long term care
NDP Leader Jack Layton today announced the NDP plan to increase home care and long-term care for seniors.
“Seniors built Canada. They looked after us, but we’re not lookingafter them,” Layton said at the Oakwood Terrace long-term care facilityin Darmouth. “We owe them dignity and respect. We owe them the bestcare we can get them, where and when they need it.”
Layton committed to a $1 billion annual transfer to provinces tiedto improvements in home care. The transfer will provide home care forup to another 100,000 Canadians who require the service. Layton alsocommitted to a $500 million annual transfer tied to the creation of newlong-term-care spaces. Provinces will use the transfers to meet thelocal needs of seniors.
The improvements to home care and long-term care will allow seniorsto live in dignity, provide respite and assistance to family membersand release hospital beds for acute-care cases, Layton said.
“We can’t fix everything in a day. But we can start by getting our priorities right,” Layton said.
TWO COMMITMENTS ON HEALTH CARE
Dignity and respect for our seniors
DECEMBER 8, 2005 – We respect the past contributions and presentneeds of Canadian seniors. We believe that a full range ofpublicly-funded and regulated supports must be available for seniors –from home care, through assisted living, to palliative care.
In recognition of the changing public health care needs presentedby the reality of an aging population, we will introduce two newtransfers: a Home Care Transfer of $1 billion annually to fund homecare for 100,000 families; and, a new Long-Term Care Transfer of $500million in each of four years to be used by provinces to increase thenumber of long-term-care beds.
But the federal government must do more than just sign cheques -new public health care dollars must address new concerns within theframework of our public health care system. Therefore, these transferswill be linked to pan-Canadian principles (such as those contained inthe Canada Health Act) and negotiated with the provinces as such.
1. The Homecare Transfer
The Romanow Commission recognized that home care is one of thefastest growing parts of the health care system. The Commission alsofound growing evidence that investing in home care can save money whileimproving care and the quality of life for people who would otherwisebe institutionalized.
As such, our commitment to a new Home Care Transfer includes acommitment to the full implementation of the Recommendations found inChapter 8 of the Romanow Report, Homecare: The Next Essential Service.Our plan will include expansion of home care services for mental healthcase management, post-acute patients, and for palliative care servicesto support people in their last six months of life.
2. The Long-Term Care Transfer
At the same time, strengthening our ability to deliver highquality, institutional-based care is another growing challenge faced bypublic health care. The transfer will be used by provinces for eithercapital or operating expenses, following an assessment of local needs.If all funding went to the creation of new spaces, as many as 40,000new long-term-care spaces would be created over four years.
Long-term care for seniors is a critical starting point for anyplan to reduce waitlists. Currently, 10-25% of acute-care beds areoccupied by seniors who are waiting for long-term care beds. Expandinggood quality, well-regulated, affordable long-term care will reducepressure on hospitals, cut surgery waitlists, and allow seniors to livewith the dignity they deserve.
A new Long-Term Care Transfer will be a first, practical step tosupport the launch of an achievable publicly regulated long-term careexpansion plan, one that will provide needed public funds to helpseniors to live with respect and in comfort, while taking the pressureoff emergency and acute-care beds in resource-challenged hospitals.
We will provide additional details on these commitments when we release our platform later in the campaign.