WHEREAS long term care facilities in most provinces and territories are a mixture of public and privately owned facilities;
WHEREAS the quality standards of such facilities vary widely from one province and territory to another;
WHEREAS the costs of long term care also vary widely from one province and territory to another;
WHEREAS most provinces and territories provide some measure of assistance to seniors and others who cannot afford the costs of long term care from their own resources;
WHEREAS the terms under which such assistance is provided varies from one province or territory to another;
BE IT RESOLVED that the Liberal Party of Canada urge a Liberal Government to undertake negotiations with the provinces and territories with the goal of bringing long term care into the Canada Health Act, establishing national standards for the facilities, quality and practice of long term care and encouraging provinces and territories to conduct accreditation on the basis of such standards.
Senior Liberals’ Commission
Health care is much broader than being able to see a Doctor or get treatment in the Hospital, it is about keeping people healthy and active and in there own homes. There will come a time for meny of us when a nursing home will be required in order to do the full job. Private sector nursing homes are more desirable than government owned facilities. Let the government set the guide lines then let the private sector run the show.
So who pays? I think people should pay into a government directed health care plan rather than buying supplemental health care for drug, glasses, dental, travel, nursing homes etc.
Good resolution.
One of the issues that should be addressed is the limited ability of elderly people in long term care to be transferred from one province to another province where their family is. I personally know two families whose mother was in long term care, and when employment took the family to another province the elderly parent could not be transferred into the long term care system of other province. In both cases this resulted in a situation where the son flew back to the other province once every month to visit his mother. This was emotionally extremely difficult for the mother in long term care. In both cases there was no other family to visit her and care for her.
I am not certain of the details of provincial health care regulations that may or may not allow people in long term care to be transferred between provinces; but inter-provincial agreements should allow people to be transferred to be with family.