Seniors wait longer to access multiple services

Seniors in British Columbia are facing longer delays in accessing multiple services. On Wednesday, the province’s seniors’ rights advocate, Dan Levitt, released his annual report which highlights the challenges of the aging population.

Seniors now represent 20% of the provincial population, an increase of 45% over 10 years.

While the share of those aged 65 and over is expected to continue to increase, Dan Levitt assène: We do not maintain service levels year after year. In fact, they’re getting worse. We are regressing in several very important areas.

We need to do much more to reduce these waiting lists. Yes, we need a comprehensive plan that demonstrates that seniors’ lives matter in British Columbia.

Over the past five years, waiting lists for knee and hip replacements for those 65 and older have increased by 53% and 59%, respectively.

In 2023-2024, 6,500 people were waiting for a subsidized long-term care bed, an increase of 150% compared to five years ago.

This adds additional stress on family caregivers who can no longer care for their loved one at home, many of whom are seniors themselves.regret Dan Levitt.

Some seniors find themselves waiting for a place in the hospital because of these delays.

We’re simply not building enough new infrastructure [pour les soins de longue durée et les logements avec assistance] at the same rate as the population increasesanalyse Dan Levitt.

The defender tells the story of a woman who could not find a place in a retirement home for her husband in Cranbrook; the latter then had to be sent to Ferniean hour’s drive away.

Dan Levitt would like home help services to be free, like in Alberta or Ontario, because this represents a significant cost for seniors with low incomes.

If a person has an annual income of 30 000 $, which is slightly lower than the average income of a senior in British Columbia, they will end up paying 9000 $ for one hour [quotidienne] of home support over a year and that amounts to nearly 30 % of its income.

Carrefour 50+, which notably has a pilot home support program in French, was not available Wednesday for an interview on this report.

The number of applications for subsidized housing stood at around 14,000 in 2023-2024, an increase of 59% over five years. The number of seniors receiving assistance from Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER) fell by 8%.

Increase in reports of violence

As for the data provided by the GRCover five years there has been an 18% increase in the number of elderly victims of violent crime, a 23% increase in the number of assault victims and an 88% increase in fraud.

On the transport side, the number of trip requests Handydart not having been filled increased by 44%.

Considering the importance of transportation in combating isolation, loneliness and social exclusion, we need a transportation system that works for seniors, especially those who use Handydart in their daily lives to get around. go to their appointments. This is even more critical in rural British Columbia.

Dan Levitt urges the ministries to have a coordinated and transversal approach in matters affecting seniors in the province.

Despite the list of multiple waiting times which are getting longer, the provincial defender wanted to be optimistic. Overall, seniors in British Columbia are living longer and staying healthier longer, which is excellent.

The percentage of seniors with dementia is not increasinghe also mentioned.