A recent CBC article: Patients needing long-term care clog hospitals focusses upon a 2012 study by The Canadian Institute for Health Information. This study focusses on wait times for hospitals and care in Canadian hospitals.

One of the focusses of the study is the strain put upon the system by inefficient placement, care, and transferring of patients that are simply waiting to be moved to LTC facilities or back home for supportive care.

Within the study, these types of patients are referred to as ‘alternate level care’ patients. 85% of these individuals are seniors.

 

The article (which is well worth reading) goes on to discuss alternative care initiatives happening in various locations in Canada, including programs in Nova Scotia and Mississauga, Ontario. However, in these instances, programs are of a trial nature.

The article concludes with other data from the study that does not relate to LTC, seniors, or personal support worker related information.

Perhaps one of the most useful pieces of information and discussions comes from a user in the comments form. Here is the top ranked comment from the article:

My wife is a palliative nurse and deals with this on a continuous basis. It’s been going on for years. Nobody’s interested.

Administrators constantly pressure wards to take patients requiring different care. ER is full? Move some people to cardiac or neuro to make space. The problem is many patients drop anchor because they can’t be moved anywhere else.

In palliative medicine you get a lot of people in hospital that should be in hospice (or even long term care). There’s no hospice room and there’s no long term care beds. The beds remain in use by people that do not need the degree of care those wards can provide, and people who need into *that* ward simply have to wait.

There are conflicting problems. Some people feel they are being discharged too early from hospital (especially day surgeries). Others have no business using up a hospital bed, but there’s no appropriate bed for them to go to (and despite not needing a hospital bed they’re still too sick to be sent home).

We need more long term and outpatient services. We’re not going to get them – the system is strained and our senior populating is exploding. This will only get worse and Canadians are unwilling to pay for the healthcare they think they deserve.

For more on the article or the conversation surrounding it visit the CBC page comments section, found at: http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/11/29/seniors-waits-hospital-long-term-care.html