Seniors advocates call for more funding from B.C. gov’t
Posted January 21, 2025 3:02 pm.
Last Updated January 21, 2025 3:42 pm.
The BC Care Providers Association (BC CPA) is asking the provincial government for more funding after Premier David Eby’s mandate letter to new Health Minister Josie Osborne called for a prioritization of senior care.
In the letter, Eby asked Osborne to improve the delivery of care to seniors and to improve efficiency and effectiveness as the population in B.C. continues to age.
“While this mandate appears to recognize the dire need to meet the demand for seniors care, especially long-term care and assisted living, it is clear that the current $3 billion plan falls short,” said BC CPA CEO Terry Lake in a statement Tuesday.
Lake said in the statement that the current estimated cost of $1.5 million per room is not the best use of taxpayer money. Cost-effectiveness was a focus of Osborne’s mandate letter.
“The current government plan to build new long-term care spaces is a very expensive one because it’s mostly going through health authority-owned and operated sites. Affiliate providers, our members, have demonstrated for decades that they can produce these long term care spaces at a lower cost and get them on the market sooner.” Lake told 1130 NewsRadio
“We are growing the senior population at an unprecedented rate, and there’s just not enough home care. There’s just not enough long-term care spaces, and so really the funding needs to be put aside to maximize the number of hours of home care that we can deliver.” Lake said
Projections from the Conference Board of Canada said B.C. will require 30,000 new beds in long-term care homes by 2035, however, the BC CPA said the current plan will only deliver 3,000 beds by 2030.
Lake said one solution could be for the government to instruct health authorities to issue requests for proposals for new long-term care spaces, instead of the health authorities building their own.
Lake added that seniors are waiting up to nine months to be placed into a long-term care facility, often not receiving the care they need.
“Many of our members are family-funded home health and home care providers, and they could be contracted by health authorities to augment the care that the health authorities are able to provide, which we know from the seniors advocate’s report.” Lake said.
The BC CPA said in its statement that longer wait times demonstrate the need to build homes faster than the current plan allows.
In a statement provided to 1130 NewsRadio, Health Minister Josie Osborne said the ministry is focused on stewarding public investments to improve care for seniors.
“The $3 billion investment our government is making in long term care is the largest investment in B.C.’s history, and I look forward to working with the BC Care Providers Association, service providers, healthcare unions, and other partners in seniors care to meet the challenges we face,” said Osborne.
