Our advocacy work called for standards and many of our members joined in that call, but there’s still work to be done. Photo: Cpl. Genevieve Beaulieu
In response to the devastating conditions and outcomes in long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, Federal Retirees called on all levels of government to collaborate on a national review of long-term care and develop urgently needed national standards for long-term care.
What we've achieved
More than 18,000 of our members joined our call, sending letters to their MPs and demanding that governments address the problems in long-term and home care once and for all to ensure equitable and quality care for all Canadians. Research has shown that the issues in long-term care have been building for years, and that it has also been a symptom of ageism in public and health-care policy.
In early 2023, national long-term care standards were announced. These standards were developed under the leadership of Samir Sinha, the MD who acted as chair of the technical committee that developed the standards with collaboration between the Health Standards Organization (HSO) and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA).
The standards were developed with a rigorous, evidence-based process, led by experts and with the full participation of people with lived experience, with multiple public and focused consultations. The resulting standards provide a minimum standard of care and service delivery along with infection prevention and control.
What is missing
However, the mandate for the project did not require adopting the new standards to become mandatory. This means our work is not done. If long-term care is going to change for the better — and it has to — governments must implement these standards.
That’s why we’ve launched the next phase of our long-term care advocacy campaign, calling for long-term care standards to be implemented and enforced through accountability tied to funding. To ensure the standards we’ve all worked so hard for are realized, it’s crucial that provincial and territorial governments are held responsible for the way they treat long-term care residents and that their funding is at stake.
Why this matters
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw outbreaks of the virus and deaths in many long-term care homes across the country as well as struggles to source personal protective equipment, implement safety protocols and maintain staffing levels in long-term care facilities. The military was even called in to provide support to the hardest-hit facilities and shocking military reports revealed deplorable conditions in some of these facilities.
We also learned that more than 80 per cent of Canada’s total COVID-19 deaths occurred in long-term care during the first wave of the pandemic. More than 17,000 long-term care residents died of COVID-19 in Canada.
Just as it exposed and aggravated problems within the long-term care system, the COVID-19 pandemic deeply affected home and community care. Clients experienced reduced access to some services, like bathing and cleaning, which were — unbelievably — deemed non-essential.
Informal caregivers, who provide an estimated 80 per cent of community care and 30 per cent of institutional care, also took on more during the pandemic. They dealt with increased stress and additional duties while respite care and other services they rely on were cut, and governments offered them virtually no support, financial or otherwise.
COVID-19 has drawn attention to the long-standing gaps in Canada’s older adult care. In doing so, it has also provided us with a valuable opportunity. We must use this opportunity to rethink older adult care in Canada and create a person-centred system that incorporates best practices from around the world.
Transforming older adult care
Transforming older adult care requires implementing and enforcing national standards for long-term care, home care and other older adult care, to ensure a baseline level of quality care for older Canadians, regardless of where they live. Governments will need to enact laws that support this new direction.
The Canada Health Act, which outlines Canada’s health-care framework, establishes criteria, conditions and funding related to insured health services. However, it focuses on hospitals and physicians, the services most Canadians needed when the legislation was drafted. By 2046, the population aged 85 and older could triple to almost 2.5 million people. Canada’s aging population means Canadians’ needs have changed, and our health-care framework must keep pace.
What we’re doing now
Federal Retirees was pleased to see the recent release of national standards for long-term care by the federal government, and to see our members’ feedback reflected in the final report. We were also impressed by the quality of work done by the HSO, building on groundwork done by the CSA.
However, there is still work to be done. The standards are voluntary, and this is a problem. While difficult in a federal system, we need enforceability and regulation to make a real difference.
And so, Federal Retirees is continuing to campaign for the national standards to be mandatory, implemented, funded and accountable.
While the announced standards offer demonstrably better care and infection prevention and control, they do not address all the elements that have been flagged as problematic within the long-term care sector.
The standards do not cover enforcement, mandatory accreditation or accountability and dedicated funding for long-term care. Sinha has been clear that the standards are only useful if they become the basis of enforcement and accountability measures, not only accreditation measures.
This is why Federal Retirees has launched the next phase of its campaign — to call for standards that are enforceable, with funding tied to accountability.
We need you to join us
We have all the resources to help you get involved and take action. We’ve developed easy-to-use tools to help you:
- Send a letter to your MP and your representative in your provincial/ territorial legislature with just a couple of clicks.
- Send a letter to your local media with our easy-to-use online tool.
- Meet your MP using our toolkit — complete with speaking notes and questions to ask.
- Spread the word by sharing this campaign with your family and friends and encouraging them to get involved, too.
Join our Reach 338 network to get involved in advocacy campaigns. Email advocacyteam@federalretirees.ca to learn more.