Hey All,
Michael has always been a strong advocate for seniors.
Attached and below is his statement to Bill 17 – Health Statutes (Residents’ Bill of Rights) Amendment Act 2009.
2009 Legislative Session: First Session, 39th Parliament
HOUSE BLUES
This is a DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY of debate in one sitting of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. This transcript is subject to corrections, and will be replaced by the final, official Hansard report. Use of this transcript, other than in the legislative precinct, is not protected by parliamentary privilege, and public attribution of any of the debate as transcribed here could entail legal liability.
DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
(HANSARD)
HOUSE BLUES
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009
Afternoon Sitting
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2009
Deputy Speaker: I thank the member for his remarks and call upon the member for Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
M. Sather: It’s my pleasure to rise to speak to Bill 17, Health Statutes (Residents’ Bill of Rights) Amendment Act, 2009, which, you know, gives a few residents rights here, such as the right to a care plan; the right to health, safety and dignity; the right to participate in his or her own care and to freely express his or her own view; right to transparency and accountability. They can submit a complaint under the Patient Care Quality Review Board Act, but they can’t sue. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
It’s a bill, obviously, that has a general inclusion of rights for seniors, and in that regard, it’s supportable. It is kind of reminiscent, as the member for Delta North said the other day, of the wood-first bill, the wood is good bill, which the member opposite just mentioned as well — which is, in fact, a feel-good bill with not a lot of substance in it. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
Just as the previous bill was an attempt by this government to cover up the catastrophe that has happened in the forest industry, this one is similarly a weak attempt, albeit, to cover up the catastrophe in seniors care that that has struck seniors since this government was elected in 2001. They know that. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
One would think that we could — and that the government could, since they’re the ones that bring legislation forth — focus on some really essential rights for seniors, such as the right to a residential care bed in the first place. That right has been denied for many seniors in British Columbia. It has been delayed for huge numbers of seniors in British Columbia. The promise that this government made — we all know the promise; 5,000 long-term care beds — has never been fulfilled, but nonetheless has been…. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
The government has tried to finesse the numbers, as we know, over these many years and have included, for example, in their, I would have to say, rash assertion that they’ve met their targets, assisted-living beds which are nothing like residential care. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
Residential care is where you have complex health care needs. You need 24-7 care. Assisted living is where people live independently. They get a couple of meals a day and a very minimum amount of assistance. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
They’re entirely different things, but the government has mixed them up in order to make it appear that the seniors of British Columbia are getting better access to health care and better access to care beds and long-term care facilities, which they know they’re not. In fact, the B.C. Medical Association said that between 2001 and 2007 we had actually declined by 553 beds. Their doctors go into those facilities on a regular basis. I think they’re pretty well-qualified to comment on that. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
[1810]
Another twist that the government has brought in that just makes you want to tear your hair out, it’s so far out, is that they’ve been saying: “We don’t have wait-lists anymore.” You ask how long a wait-list is to get into a residential care facility. “We don’t have wait-lists.” They just magically disappeared somehow. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
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. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
I guess there’s nobody out there that even needs care, one would think, if there’s no wait-list, or there’s a very minimal wait-list. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
You have to have a need to be in a complex care facility within 90 days. So you can’t even get on a wait-list. If you’re trying to care for your loved ones, you want to get on a wait-list far enough in advance so that you can prepare and they can prepare for that very difficult move sometimes. But that’s not provided for by this government, and it’s caused a great deal of concern. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
You know, I again was shocked — shocked but not surprised — to hear the member for Kelowna–Lake Country say…. I’m not sure whether he said 15 to 90 or 50 to 90, but either way, he’s saying that’s the average wait-time to get into a long-term care facility. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
I’ll tell you, that is not the case in Maple Ridge. I’m sure it’s not the case in many, if not all, parts of British Columbia. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
I asked our local hospital, where seniors are waiting for up to a year in the hospital to get to a long-term care facility, or they may be transferred to Riverview and be stuck there for months and months — who knows how long? — until they get into a long-term care facility. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
Well, I got an answer back, and it was around that kind of number. I said: “That’s not credible.” It’s not a credible number. We know our seniors are waiting for up to a year in that hospital. I said: “So tell me this. What are your minimum times that seniors have to wait to get into a long-term care facility, and what are your maximum times?” The answer was: “Well, we can’t say because there’s so much variability.” [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
Now, come on. Elementary mathematical ability tells you that you can’t have an average without knowing all of your figures, without having a minimum and a maximum. But you can’t get that…. I couldn’t get that information from my health care facility. But I know, from talking to seniors and their families, it’s much, much longer. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
That would have been a great thing to have in this bill of rights — the right to a long-term care facility for seniors who need it, and there are lots that need it. The number that are actually in care in B.C. is dropping — which is very surprising given that our population is aging and aging fairly rapidly — but it’s not dropping in other provinces. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
This government does have a tremendous amount to answer to, to the seniors of this province, because they’re not hoodwinked. They’re not fooled. They’re not deceived. They’re not stupid. They know exactly what’s going on, and they don’t like it one little bit. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
The latest injury to seniors is the notice that’s gone out: “Well, guess what. Your rates are going up to pay for your loved ones in long-term care.” Not just a little bit; we’re talking about an 80 percent increase in long-term care facility costs. That for many, many seniors — for any of us — would amount to a huge hit on one’s ability to maintain an apartment, if there’s one member of the couple still living, such as the senior that phoned me a couple days ago. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
He’s 80-some-years old. His wife has been in a long-term care facility in Maple Ridge for about a year now. They have a combined after-tax income of $42,000 a year. Now that sounds like, well, it’s not too, too bad. But when you look at how that breaks down in face of what they’re facing, it goes something like this. That works out to $3,500 a month, and right now, the cost for her care is $1,350 a month, leaving the senior, the husband, still in the home with $2,200. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
But when you break it down, they’re going to be going from $42,000 a year, which is, as I said, $3,500 a month…. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
[1815]
The way that the notice reads — and I’m wanting to get clarification from the ministry and from the minister on this — he’ll be paying, or they will be paying, now $2,800 a month for her care. Now he goes down to 700 bucks a month. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
That doesn’t cover very much, including [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
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rent, facility fees, maintenance fees — all the things that we have to pay to live. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
So that would be another thing that I would sure like to have seen in this bill of rights — the right for seniors to have care at a reasonable rate. Having your rate increase by 80 percent is not reasonable. It’s not reasonable at all, and one can understand clearly why so many seniors are upset with this government and getting more and more upset as the days go on. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
Well, there have been cuts, as we know, and I could go on about those and about other issues. But I understand there’s a number of folks that still want to speak, and we have not that much time left. So thank you very much, Madam Speaker, for the opportunity to address this bill. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]
