Elder Abuse and Elder Care: Ten Innovative Fixes (Canada)

TEN innovative fixes for what ails us
By Judy Steed

Special to the Star

Judy Steed's public policy recommendations to solve problems plaguing the current system:

1. PROBLEM: In Canada, "bed blockers" – older people stuck in hospital, ready for discharge, lacking the home support they require – occupy 5,000 hospital beds and consume $200 million annually. They clog emergency departments and expand wait times for others.

SOLUTION: Hospitals in Denmark eliminated bed blockers by creating a stiff incentive to get elders moving. Municipalities are required to pay for those who stay in hospital past discharge dates. That got communities working to move seniors on – to rehab or home care.
In Canada, even hospitals agree that community care is the answer. "I'm CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association and we think the solution is in the community," Tom Closson told me when he was CEO of the University Health Network. An effective long-term home care system is the answer, he says – only then will seniors discharged from hospitals and nursing homes be diverted from emergency departments.

2. PROBLEM: There are 216 geriatricians in Canada – most not working in their speciality full time – serving a population of 4.3 million seniors. That's a ratio of 0.00005:1.
There are 10 times as many pediatricians – 2,247 – serving a population slice (children) that's roughly the same size.

SOLUTION: There are four options: One, provide family doctors with more geriatric training. Two, set up Seniors Wellness Clinics at all hospitals, with geriatric specialists doing full assessments of medications, nutrition, exercise. Three, increase student grants to encourage more students to enter the field. Four, increase pay for geriatricians.
The Ontario government announced a raise earlier this fall which geriatricians hail as a positive step, but at $330,000 a year, they are still paid less than other high-profile specialties.

3. PROBLEM: Overmedication. At least $1 billion is spent annually on drugs seniors should not take, according to Dr. Michael Rachlis.
The World Health Organization estimates that 50 per cent of prescriptions are not needed and may be harmful – amounting to $8 billion a year of wasteful, possibly dangerous spending in Canada.

SOLUTION: Doctors should have access to an electronic prescribing system to monitor prescriptions.
An electronic model has been adopted by most Toronto hospitals, and should be available across Canada.

10. PROBLEM: Experts estimate that at least 10 per cent of seniors – a figure that's considered a low estimate – are subjected to abuse and have nowhere to turn.

SOLUTION: Require the mandatory reporting of abuse of older adults (just as it's required for the abuse of children) and provide more safe havens like Toronto's Pat's Place, where seniors can, with support, stabilize their lives.

Abridged

SOURCE: Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada
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An excellent article. Please go to source for full-text and more information about the writer.
Those in power to do something to fix the system in their own country, should take note of the great work by Judy. Many countries are facing similar problems regarding elder care and elder abuse prevention. Let us not 're-invent the wheel', but exchange ideas so we can better protect the elderly.

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