News & Events
Baby boomers and bed blockers
Published Wednesday December 9th, 2009 GLEANER
If you ignore it, it might go away.
That is a questionable approach to problem solving, but unfortunately, it's one governments are known for. Certainly governments are expected to be all things to all people, and not everything or everyone gets taken care of. But sick and elderly citizens simply cannot be in that group. The news from the budget last week addressed senior care with some good news and an impressive investment in nursing homes, which is both welcome and long overdue.
We've known for years - even decades - that we were going to need a huge increase in nursing home beds. The demographics don't lie. As well, the era where adult children automatically cared full-time for their aging parents has largely passed. Women, the primary caregivers, are out working, and they cannot be expected to juggle work, home, children and sickly parents.
So that responsibility has fallen to government to supplement and expand the nursing home care business. Unfortunately, they haven't done a great job of it. Foresight is required, which is not exactly one of the hallmarks of the political system. The result has been what we call bed blockers, hundreds of elderly patients housed in our hospitals awaiting beds in nursing homes. They can't go home because they require some level of care, and there is no one at home to give that.
This situation limits the number of hospital beds available for other patients, including surgery patients. Surgeries are being cancelled, and emergency room patients awaiting beds are doing so in hospital corridors. It has become common in our health-care system. We’re not specifically blaming the current provincial government. This is not a problem that began with the 2006 election. In fact, it goes back a long way, but it has become more acute in the last few years.
Perhaps the urgency of the issue is what prompted the Shawn Graham government to act. The $400 million plan, over five years, will see the replacement, expansion, construction or renovation of 49 facilities around the province. In the next two years, $40 million will be spent, some of which will go to replace the Mill Cove Nursing Home near Grand Lake.
It's all good news - for senior citizens, the staff and the construction workers who will spend their paycheques nearby. But we'd like to point out a few issues surrounding the good news.
First, it's important that our province continue to invest in home care. That is by far the cheaper option for senior care, and certainly preferred by those receiving care. Home-care workers have made some advances after intense lobbying, but they need continued support if we want to keep seniors in their homes for as long as possible.
Second, once these nursing homes are built or expanded, they will require staff. There are plenty of people wanting to enter the health professions, but there are not enough seats in our universities and community colleges to train them. The province's plan is to increase the number of nursing home beds by 300 in five years. That will require a change in training programs unless we want empty, unstaffed wings in these new and improved facilities.
And finally, if you thought nursing home beds were scarce now, just wait until the baby boomers arrive. Some might believe it's the baby boomers who are in need of all these beds, but that's not accurate. The oldest boomers are just this year turning 63, with the youngest of this population bulge a mere 47. Most of them are still working and living vibrant lives - nowhere near the age of needing the services of a nursing home.
So let's get building these facilities, let's continue to train people to staff them, and continue to expand and improve home care, because the demand is only going to increase.
Response from the NBHSA President sent to the Gleaner
December 10, 2009
Response to Baby Boomers and Bed Blockers
There are approximately 700 New Brunswickers currently on the waiting list for a nursing home bed. In the recent budget the government announced that 300 new nursing home beds would be added to the system over the next five years. You can see that this still will not accomadate the current people let alone provide for any increase that may occur over that five year period.
Of the 700 people on the waiting list government tells us that 70 to 80 percent of these people are waiting in a hospital bed. This means there are over 500 people in hospital beds that may not need those beds. There are currently around 2650 hospital beds in New Brunswick. Of the available hospital beds about 18-20% are not available to New Brunswickers who may need them.
The actual monetary cost of these bed blockers is debatable. There are additional costs besides the actual cost of hospital care. There are human costs that are tough to gage. We know some areas of the province such as Bathurst are severly affected by this issue. Patients are in the halls and in some cases there are 5 patients in a room designed for four. This puts stress on the patients, their families and the hospital staff. What is the solution to this challenge? Does the government need to add beds to the system? Do they need to expand some hospitals? In some areas that may be the case. That is a tremendously expensive solution. As our population ages the situation will grow worse before it improves.
The governments’ own long term care strategy stated that seniors want to remain in their homes for as long as possible. The people of New Brunswick and the government should support this idea. Not only is it the right thing to do but in their homes seniors continue to be part of the community. They pay their taxes, purchase groceries, and other consumables as well as many other services. They are also happier in their own homes.
We would respectfully suggest that home support can be part of the solution to this very important challenge. However, the home support industry in New Brunswick is facing major recruitment and retention issues with regards to attracting and maintaining employees. Because of this home support agencies are hard pressed to meet the current needs of clients. Government information projects an increased demand for home support services. Where will agencies get the employees to meet this demand?
With government support the reasons for the recruitment and retention issues have been identified and recommendations to correct them have been made. What is now needed is the political will to implement these recommendations. Although this may not be the answer to all the bedblocking issues hospitals are facing it could help by keeping seniors where they want to be – in their homes.
The cost of correcting this is far less than the cost of ignoring the issue and hoping it will go away.
Sincerely,
Bob Price
President – The New Brunswick Home Support Association (NBHSA)
