Poll for CFNU shows national concern about seniors' care, study lays out proposal for improvement

Canadians are deeply worried about the cost and quality of seniors’ care, a new poll conducted for the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions by Abacus Data shows.

Of the ideas whose support was tested in the nationwide survey of 1,500 Canadian adults conducted between May 4 and May 6, 2015, setting national standards for seniors’ care and negotiating a new national health care agreement were the most popular, with about 75 per cent of respondents indicating their support.

The Abacus poll also showed 63 per cent of respondents would be drawn to vote for a party that said it supported a national prescription drug plan.

As for their concerns about the cost and quality of care, the poll indicated one in 10 Canadians now provides unpaid care for an adult loved one, and among those not now providing such care more than half believed they would have to within a decade.

More than two thirds of Canadians also believe it is likely or very likely that a loved one will require continuing care within a decade, the poll indicated.

A majority of respondents was fearful they would have difficulty finding a care facility that would treat their loved ones well, that they might not be able to support the cost of care for a loved one and that there would not be enough health care professionals available to help.

Concern about access to quality care crossed all geographic areas and demographic groups, but was particularly acute among women.

Abacus said the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 per cent.

“Before it’s too late,” the report prepared for CFNU on how to implement a national seniors’ care strategy, calls for a national commitment to a person-centred, inclusive and culturally sensitive seniors’ care system.

To achieve this, the study recommends federal continuing care legislation, long-term national funding for seniors’ care and an effectively enforced national standard of seniors’ care.

The study also concludes that promoting care as a relationship requires a stable workforce, effective teamwork, adequate staffing levels and an appropriate mix of staff – including “a growing recognition of the need to regulate nurse-patient ratios.”

It calls for staffing standards that include a minimum of one Registered Nurse per shift and at least 4.5 hours of direct care for each resident each day.

The report highlights the cost and quality disparities among private for-profit, not-for-profit and public long-term care facilities and calls for national standards for the training of seniors’ care workers.