On May 9, 2005, Auditor General Fred Dunn released his report on Seniors Care and Programs in the province.

 

The report stated that the province was failing its seniors through out-of-date standards and inadequate monitoring. It found that facilities were not meeting standards for administering medicines, often failed to maintain medical records and that almost one-third of seniors’ long-term care facilities failed to meet all basic standards of care.

 

The report confirmed what many seniors and their families already knew from first-hand experience: Alberta is failing to provide the services seniors need to lead lives of dignity and well-being.

 

The premier called the report a “wake-up call” and promised to work to improve the situation for seniors in the province. Unfortunately, the government has hit the snooze button and gone back to sleep over the past year. The situation is getting worse, not better, and the government’s approach to continuing care is taking us in the wrong direction.

 

Today, almost 340,000 Albertans, or one out of every ten people in the province, are over the age of 65.  Of these seniors, over 35,000 are over 85 years old.

 

As members of the baby-boom generation move into their senior years, Alberta will see a massive increase in its seniors population. It is estimated that over the next 20 years, the number of seniors will more than double to over 700,000. 

 

Many of Alberta’s seniors live happy, independent and fulfilling lives, but for a growing number of seniors, inadequate levels of income and failing health mean that too many are living lives of quiet desperation.

 

The unfortunate reality is that many of Alberta’s seniors simply do not have access to the support, service and care they need to ensure their health, safety and well-being.

 

The continuing care available to many seniors today is costly and inadequate to meet their needs.

 

The provincial government is compounding the problem by increasingly turning care of seniors over to private operators and downloading the costs of required care onto individual seniors and their families, many of whom are already strained by fixed incomes and the rising cost of living.

 

There is inadequate protection for vulnerable seniors, and many face abuse or poor treatment as a result. The necessary standards, regulations and enforcement are not in place to protect seniors from abuse.

 

The lack of required support services in many communities means that seniors are being separated from their life partners and isolated from their families and communities because they are forced to relocate to access the services they need.

 

Over the years, the cracks in Alberta’s system for supporting our seniors have become chasms, and as more Albertans enter their senior years, more and more will fall through.

 

Much has been said and written about the need to provide the support that our seniors need and deserve, but little has been done. Seniors care in Alberta is approaching a crisis– we need action now.