BC’s Seniors Advocate says the province in not meeting the basic needs of BC seniors. The 2024 Monitoring Seniors Services report shows growing long-term care waitlists and ongoing occupancy of hospital beds by seniors who would be better cared for in long-term care or at home. This leaves seniors and their families struggling without the supports that they need.
One key issue? There are not enough family doctors available to care for the growing numbers of patients who need care, including home visits and long-term care.
The seniors’ population has grown 45% over the past 10 years. By 2035, approximately 25% of people in B.C. will be over the age of 65. It’s vital that we are recruiting additional family doctors to provide care to seniors living in their homes and those in long-term care, so that we can meet the needs of BC’s aging population.
There are some simple solutions that will retain existing family doctors and recruit additional family doctors to provide seniors care and long-term care:
- Compensation models that support quality care: Taking care of frail elders is complex and requires time with patients. Regardless of their type of practice, all physicians need to be able to provide quality care that meets best practice expectations.
- Fair compensation: When doctors are fairly compensated for all aspects of seniors care and long-term care, they can provide proactive care, reduce transfers to hospitals, support families and caregivers, and plan for end of life care.
- After-hours coverage and funding: When doctors have support from a group to provide 24/7 care, more doctors are willing to provide this type of needed care. This is particularly important in long-term care facilities.
- Learning and skill development: When doctors have opportunities for ongoing education, clinical skill development, and mentoring, they are better supported to provide the care patients need in their later years.
Seniors deserve better. The seniors of this province built our communities. They deserve dignity, respect, and quality care in their later years.
The report shows the system isn’t keeping up. It’s time to invest in patient care by recruiting and retaining doctors to provide seniors care.
Read the full report here.