National Standards in Long-Term Care
Why We Need National Standards in Long-Term Care
In Canada the quality, funding and oversight of long-term care varies wildly. We saw the high cost of an underfunded, often ignored continuing care system during COVID-19. Of the 25,000 Canadians who have died from COVID-19, at least 70% were residents or staff of long-term care facilities. But the crisis in LTC existed before the pandemic and if we don’t do something it will continue after the pandemic ends.
That’s why the Nova Scotia Health Coalition and its allies across the country have called for real, legislated national standards to bring LTC into the universal, public healthcare system and to ensure that everyone living in care can live not just safe and healthy, but also joyous, fulfilling and dignified lives.
National standards would ensure proper staffing levels and oversight and provide a mechanism for additional federal funding. Without them we run the risk of failing to learn the lessons of the pandemic and go back to the broken status quo.
Resources to Learn More
You can read the 1 page summary of our proposed national standards here
You can read the full legal opinion and draft legislation from renowned public interest lawyer Steven Shrybman here
If you prefer audio, our provincial coordinator Chris Parsons appear on the LTC Chronicles podcast to talk about national standards, LTC in Nova Scotia and what the future of long-term care could look like. You can listen by following this link or on your preferred podcast app.
We also spoke with Sheldon MacLeod of Saltwire for in a video discussion on the proposed national standards. You can watch it here.
The Council of Canadians recently wrote a clear explanation of why legislated national standards are needed and why relying on accreditation is a big mistake. You can read it here.