Politics of Long-Term Care in Canada

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The government of BC, Canada has committed financially to improving senior’s care. Should this money be used to enhance the current residential care system or should the focus change to improve community care?

Taking care of people of advanced age is among the key tasks of healthcare all over the world, and the government of British Columbia allocates a lot of money to health institutions to improve senior’s care (Silversides, 2011). There are numerous problems related to the current residential care system, but it is important to use this money to improve community care and, therefore, reduce the number of older adults who enter residential care facilities when it is not necessary. Current reports devoted to the quality of healthcare indicate that every fifth patient in residential care facilities in Canada could be kept at home (Yourex-West, 2017). The problem is inextricably connected with access to home-based services, and it is pivotal to use the funding to increase access to home help services for elderly people.

How could the presence and activity of residents’ councils contribute to equity in long-term care?

Equity in long-term care presents an important problem in Canada as it is affected by staff shortage, unequal access to medications and equipment, and other factors. The presence of residents’ councils in Canada can contribute to equity in long-term care because such councils are able to represent and defend the interests of all members. Organizing residents’ councils in various healthcare facilities, patients can initiate open discussions to attract the attention of staff and even the government to their concerns. Some members of residents’ councils can speak on behalf of other patients in long-term care facilities, and cases of discrimination can be reported to medical superintendents directly (Ontario Association of Residents’ Councils, n.d.). Therefore, the existence and support of residents’ councils encourage many patients to talk openly about discrimination and poor-quality services.

Armstrong, Armstrong, and Daly (2012) present a list of indicators they feel should be used to inform policy and measure the equity of a welfare state. Imagine you are working at the Ministry of Health developing a framework for evaluating equity in long-term care. What indicators would you suggest and what is your rationale?

Measuring equity in healthcare is among extremely significant tasks, and there is a range of ideas concerning the best indicators to fulfill this task. The authors of the mentioned article propose a list of indicators; for further development of effective healthcare policies, it can be important to pay close attention to the perceptions of patients in long-term healthcare facilities. Indicators that could be used to improve current healthcare policies and, therefore, promote equity in long-term care include the level of patient satisfaction and average life expectancy. They can be measured in various groups (division by age, gender, race, and financial position) to keep track of inequity trends (Hankivsky et al., 2014). These indicators should be included because the lack of attention to certain groups of patients results in low satisfaction and can have a bearing on life expectancy as well (Farber, Ali, Van Sickle, & Kaslow, 2017).

In the controversial debate of the privatization of health care in Canada, where do you stand? Please share your thoughts with the group.

Personally, I suppose that privatization in the sphere of healthcare is going to do more harm than good because of additional difficulties for those with low incomes. Privatization does not necessarily help to improve the quality of service. Work in the public sector is often associated with an inadequate workload, but privatization does not reduce the exploitation of the workforce (Selberg, 2013). Instead, the fear is that the cases of patient solicitation can become more common. Also, privatization can give rise to opportunism in healthcare manifested in providers’ attempts to offer unnecessary healthcare services just to make a profit on people’s blind confidence. Paired with the risk of decreasing healthcare equity, these assumptions impact my opinion on privatization in healthcare.

In your nursing practice, have you experienced instances similar to what we have shared from the Richmond hospital, Canada (BC) palliative sector? How did/can you and your team navigate these situations?

As it follows from the additional materials, limitations related to the Canada Health Act can have a major influence on economically disadvantaged patients who need end-of-life services and effective medications. The situation with medications described by nurses can repeat in numerous healthcare facilities, but I did not experience such instances in my practice. To address similar challenges and provide patients with necessary medications, teams of healthcare providers can collect the information on available programs for patients in need that offer assistance and, if necessary, legal help. Special funds are organized all over the world to help economically disadvantaged people with cancer and other diseases, and health providers should be ready to contact such organizations if necessary.

References

Farber, E. W., Ali, M. K., Van Sickle, K. S., & Kaslow, N. J. (2017). Psychology in patient-centered medical homes: Reducing health disparities and promoting health equity. American Psychologist, 72(1), 28.

Hankivsky, O., Grace, D., Hunting, G., Giesbrecht, M., Fridkin, A., Rudrum, S., & Clark, N. (2014). An intersectionality-based policy analysis framework: Critical reflections on a methodology for advancing equity. International Journal for Equity in Health, 13(1), 119.

Ontario Association of Residents’ Councils. (n.d.).What is a residents’ council? Web.

Selberg, R. (2013). Nursing in times of neoliberal change: An ethnographic study of nurses’ experiences of work intensification. Nordic Journal of Working Life Studies, 3(2), 9.

Silversides, A. (2011). Long-term care in Canada: Status quo no option. Ottawa, Ontario: The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.

Yourex-West, H. (2017). 1 in 5 Canadian seniors entering long-term care too soon: Report.Global News. Web.

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Politics of Long-Term Care in Canada

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