Recently, representatives of the . set out decisive action they wanted to see candidates commit to in the lead-up to the provincial election on Oct. 19.
The 撸奶社区 asked the three candidates running for Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky: Which initiatives in your party's platform will help improve access to dementia care services, including in communities like Squamish, which are outside city centres?
Jeremy Valeriote, BC Green Party candidate
鈥淚 had the honour of visiting Hilltop House earlier this week to meet with residents and staff to hear about how they鈥檙e doing, and to discuss their concerns. I truly appreciated the wisdom and perspective from long lives lived in the Sea to Sky,鈥� said Valeriote.
鈥淚 heard about how the lack of long-term care beds in the corridor meant residents were separated from their families and communities. I heard from a Lil鈥檞at Nation member who would be much happier and healthier if they could reside near Mount Currie and about a 撸奶社区Nation member who is displaced to the North Shore, away from their family, on a long waitlist for Hilltop,鈥� he continued.
鈥淲hile I am encouraged to hear that Hilltop will be replaced with a larger, modern, long-term care facility in the next few years, population growth in the corridor means this is likely to be insufficient.
鈥淔rom what I heard, it seems the same systemic problems affecting our healthcare services can be seen in dementia care: leadership out of touch with staff delivering services; a lack of transparency around criteria for qualifying for long-term care; bureaucracy hindering patient care; and a funding model that counts people instead of treating them as human beings.
鈥淥n dementia care, the BC Greens would defer to the experience and advice of the Alzheimer Society, who have led the way in educating the public and reducing stigma. They recommend that we support family practitioners to do more early screening for dementia. Early detection improves outcomes, which is another reason why we must tackle the family doctor shortage and guarantee access to primary care for all. Plus, we must establish a clear dementia care pathway so families have clarity about what happens next,鈥� he said.
鈥淭here also needs to be a dementia support strategy, with a focus on cultural safety because the stress caused to brain health by experiences such as racism and colonization increases the likelihood of dementia.
Finally, on care across the province we would accept the recommendations of the BC Seniors鈥� Advocate to develop and implement a Provincial Long-Term Care and Assisted Living Plan focused on achieving equity in care services. For-profit, publicly-funded care homes cost more and deliver less care, so BC Greens want to assist in a significant expansion of non-profit care capacity.鈥�
Yuri Fulmer, Conservative Party candidate
鈥淏ritish Columbia鈥檚 healthcare system is in crisis. Our once globally envied system is letting far too many people slip through the cracks; often, these people are our seniors and those living with dementia,鈥� Fulmer said.
鈥淭hat is why the Conservative Party of BC has announced our 鈥減atient first鈥� model for healthcare that puts the emphasis on delivering quality care for all people, regardless of how they access that care. On Sept. 24, John Rustad also announced our party鈥檚 plan to stand up for seniors. The plan includes tax credits for caregivers and increased funding for home support services, which are both critical to supporting those living with dementia. The plan also calls for an increase in support and streamlined care for seniors with dementia through a comprehensive, person-centred care pathway from early diagnosis to advanced stages.
鈥淥ver the last seven years, the NDP鈥檚 failure on this file has left families no choice but to step in to support their loved ones with their time and money; this is unacceptable. As your problem-solver in Victoria, I will take action for our most vulnerable people, alongside John Rustad and a Conservative government.鈥�
BC NDP candidate Jen Ford
"People want the best care for their loved ones鈥攁nd that鈥檚 especially true when it comes to stressful diagnoses like Alzheimer鈥檚 or other forms of dementia. And while I鈥檓 not in a position to release platform details just yet, I can say with certainty that we鈥檙e taking action to deliver healthcare that supports people with Alzheimer鈥檚,鈥� Ford said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e training and hiring more doctors, nurses, home care workers and other healthcare workers than ever before, and we鈥檙e committed to connecting people to the healthcare they need. According to Doctors of BC, in Whistler, 10,000 patients have a family doctor鈥攗p from roughly 6,000 a year ago, thanks to the Whistler 360 Health Collaborative, which has brought on new family doctors thanks to our new family doctor payment model,鈥� she continued.
鈥淲e鈥檝e also made important progress in long-term care. Since 2017, we鈥檝e opened over 1,000 new long-term care beds and announced 25 new and expanded long-term care homes, with many more to come. We also opened Canada鈥檚 first publicly funded Dementia Village. Close to home, we've made a $286 million investment in a new long-term care home in Squamish, Hilltop House, which will add 58 new long-term care beds and four hospice beds, and include a 37 space child care facility on-site,鈥� she added.
鈥淎nd we鈥檙e committed to supporting seniors to live at home for as long as possible. In the most recent budget, the BC NDP committed $354 million for both community-based seniors鈥� services and home health services, to support more seniors to live safely in their own homes longer. This includes $227 million to improve the quality of home health services for seniors by adding more healthcare workers to the workforce.
鈥淛ohn Rustad鈥檚 Conservatives plan to cut $4.1 billion from the healthcare budget. This would hurt us all, but people with conditions that require frequent or ongoing treatment would be especially hard-hit.
鈥淚n communities like ours, outside large urban centres, we know the risk of cuts and closures better than most. The best and most dignified care is care close to home. As a city councillor, I鈥檝e fought for a better life for my constituents. And I鈥檒l fight just as hard as your MLA. That is my commitment to you.
鈥淣ow is the time to hire doctors and nurses, and build out our infrastructure. There鈥檚 a plan in place, and we鈥檙e starting to see good results. We know that there is much more work to do. And we won鈥檛 stop until the job is done."
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