Hospital Heartbreak – How Canadian Healthcare is Failing the Elderly

January 5th, 2012 | Author: Mitch Reynolds

Global TV 16×9 News Report on Long Term Care Patients Being Abandoned in Hospital Beds

Long Term Care Insurance can protect you from such a horrible fate

Global TV’s in-depth news reporting program, 16×9, tackles the sensitive issue of aging Canadians being abandoned in hospitals without proper care because there are not enough Long Term Care beds available in Canadian provinces. This video is hard to watch as it shows the suffering and neglect of vulnerable, aging Canadians who have no where else to turn but their local hospital, which just isn’t prepared to act as a long-term care facility.

At present there are 15,000 Bed Blockers in Canada – those are people who need long term care but are stuck in hospitals because there are no provincially funded long term care beds available for them. This number is set to explode as the baby boomers begin to need care over the next 10 – 15 years. The long-term care tsunami hasn’t yet hit Canada, but experts are all warning about it’s dire consequences.

Hospitals are even putting financial pressure on families to move patients out of hospital to a long term care facility. They don’t care whether it is publicly funded or a private care facility. Some hospitals threaten to charge families as much as $700 per day until the move their aging family member out of the hospital. Bed Blockers are taking up much needed space in hospitals for chronically ill patients, costing the healthcare system thousands of dollars.

So, the question many aging Canadians should be asking themselves is, “Who is going to care for me?” If you think your provincial healthcare system will have a bed ready and waiting for your care needs, then just watch the video. Chances are you too could suffer this kind of neglect and loss of human dignity in your final years of life. The message governments are sending is clear – you and your family are financially responsible for your own elder care, so be prepared to pay.

Long Term Care Insurance is a possible solution. If you had the money to afford in-home care from a qualified professional then you need not become a Bed Blocker at your local hospital. The longer you can remain in your own home the better. and when your care needs become too great, you can chose to enter a private or semi-private long term care facility that costs more but will provide you with the professional care you need, with compassion and dignity in your old age.

Please don’t turn a blind eye to this important issue, otherwise you too could become a heartbreaking statistic of Canada’s over-burdened healthcare system.

Global News 16×9 Report – Hospital Heartbreak

The video was produced by Global TV 16×9 and posted by +Mitch Reynolds. If you found the video interesting or it made you think, please feel free to share your comments below. Liking us on Facebook, giving us a +1 on Google or Tweeting this article about the lack of long term care beds in Canada would also be very much appreciated.