Senior Citizens’ Association of BC
Houston
www.seniorsadvocatebc.ca
1-877-952-3181
May 5th, 2017
Legislative Mandate & Scope
Monitors the provision of
seniors’ services
Analyzes systemic issues
Provides information and
referral to seniors and their
family members
Reports to Minister and to
the public on issues
affecting seniors, and
provides recommendations
to the Minister and other
service providers
2
5 mandated areas
• Health care
• Housing
• Income support
• Personal Support
• Transportation
Who are seniors and what do they want?
Easy question to ask, difficult to answer
Seniors not all the same
“Jane”
“Anne”
Seniors not all the same
“Jane”
“Anne”
Stereotypes of seniors
Some Common Perceptions of Seniors
Burden to society - a problem that needs to be solved
Overrunning emergency departments
All going to end up in nursing homes
The “problem” dominating
health care system
Silver Tsunami
Financially secure
Homogeneous
B.C. Seniors - Reality
850,000 seniors in B.C. (18% of population), projected to grow to 24% by 2031
Indicators
Median income
Over 65
Over 85
$26,800
$24,600
Senior homeowners household income
24% <$30,000
Senior renters household income
35% <$20,000
% Living Independently
93%
74%
% Living in Residential Care
4%
15%
% that Use Publicly Subsidized Home Support
4%
13%
Use of Emergency Department
22%
Average Life Expectancy
21.6
7.1
% Living in Urban Areas
65%
65%
% of Seniors with Active Driver’s Licences
76%
34%
% that Live Alone
26%
46%
26% (65-69)
7% (70+)
40% (65-74) avg. 235 hrs
per year
31% (75+) avg. 198 hrs per
year
94%
80%
% that are Employed
% that Volunteer
% of Seniors Living Without a Diagnosis of Dementia
BC Seniors – Living Longer
BC Life expectancy - 83 years
Canada – 82.2
U.S – 79.3
Sweden – 81.7
U.K. – 81.2
What We’ve Heard
Seniors concerned they may not be able to live where
they want
Fixed and diminishing incomes
Poor transportation alternatives
Inconsistent home care services
Reduced access to residential care beds
Caregiver burnout
Devaluation of seniors by an ageist society
Seniors lack respect to make decisions
Fragmented care system overall
Targeted Issues To Date - Housing
Access to affordable housing for low income seniors
Rents ↑34% since 2005/ rents subsidy ↑ by only 9%
Subsidized Housing – long wait lists, more units needed
particularly in rural/remote areas
Use of Property tax deferment ↑
Home owners need new mechanisms to leverage home
equity
Targeted Issues to Date - Caregivers
97% of home support clients have
an unpaid caregiver
53% of home support clients fit
the clinical profile of a residential
care client
29% of caregivers are in distress,
one of the highest rates in Canada
Rate of distress increases to 38%
for those caring for the more
complex
Targeted Issues to Date – Residential Care
Care staffing
• 91% of facilities not meeting provincial guidelines
• $500 m announcement will ensure standardized benchmark, means 3
million more care hours per year
Drug use
• 26% taking antipsychotics without a diagnosis, dropping, but still
one of highest rates in Canada
• 48% taking antidepressants
Resident to resident aggression
Quality indicators being measured may not reflect
experience of residents – OSA survey of 27,000 of residents
will capture what they see is working/gaps in care
Targeted Issues To Date – Home Support
Availability of adequate levels of home support
60% of clients receive one hour or less per day
Increase in clients, but decrease in hours per client
Variation between health authorities
Not enough flexibility
20% say too many regular workers & 28% say too many
substitute workers
System too rigid in what it delivers
Clients want ability to choose service required
Cost a barrier for some seniors
Targeted Issues To Date – Transportation
OSA HandyDART survey of 7,500 HandyDART users
• 91% satisfied with service, yet nearly 1/3 say it does not or
only moderately meets transportation needs
• wait times and length of ride times an issue – only 46% always
picked up within 30-minute window
• cost an issue for some seniors – 53% of users have income of
less than $20,000
Encouraging municipalities to ensure senior pedestrians are
safe – decreased speed limits, road/intersection
design/visibility
Full systemic review of transportation issues underway
Key OSA Resources : Monitoring Report
Brings information/trends about seniors’ services together in one
place – shows where we are doing well and where improvements are
needed
Comparisons year over year in key service areas: health care,
housing, transportation, income and personal supports
Highlights from last year:
Residential care wait times ↑
Wait times for subsidized housing ↓slightly
Number of seniors with driver’s licences ↑
Max payment for CPP ↑3%
Monitoring report available on our website:
www.seniorsadvocatebc.ca
Key OSA Resources: Quick Facts Directory
Lists information for 292 publicly subsidized facilities in
British Columbia
Designed to be a starting point to find reliable data on
residential care facilities in the province
Information includes bed counts, food
Licensing inspections, complaints,
languages, care quality indicators, funded
care hours etc.
Available online @
www.seniorsadvocatebc.ca
Progress to Date
Additional $500 m committed to increased home support and care hours
in facilities
Regulatory change allowing more seniors to stay in Assisted Living longer
↓ in antipsychotic use (more progress needed)
↑ in recreational therapy (more progress needed)
Increased eligibility for, and awareness of, MSP Premium Assistance
Working group on Resident-to-Resident Aggression
Health Authority working on reducing inappropriate residential placement
Discussing SAFER changes
18
18
Work Ahead
Home Support review
Residential care survey report and review
Transportation review
Abuse and neglect of seniors initiative to improve
tracking and collection of data
Hospital Discharge and Emergency Department
report
Contact
www.seniorsadvocatebc.ca
Toll-free: 1-877-952-3181
In Victoria: 250-952-3181
Open Monday to Friday, 8:30am - 4:30pm
Translation services available in more than 180 languages.
[email protected]
facebook.com/SeniorsAdvocateBC
@SrsAdvocateBC