Call for a "revolution" on pain of "hitting a wall"
With the accelerating aging of the population, a real “demographic tsunami” will befall Quebec in the next 10 years. Without an immediate "cultural revolution" focused on home care, the province "will hit a wall", we can read in a study by Alain Dubuc published Thursday by the Institut du Québec.
Former columnist for La Presse, now a strategic advisor to the Institut du Québec (IDQ), Alain Dubuc believes that for years Quebec has been treating the issue of elder care “as it treats underground infrastructure”, “it is- that is to say that it is not visible, it does not strike the imagination as much as questions of urgency, so we swept that under the carpet ”.
The proportion of people aged 65 and over in Quebec is currently 20% and will increase to 25.4% in 10 years, reads the study by the IDQ, which describes itself as a "non-profit organization. lucrative, which publishes research and studies on contemporary socioeconomic issues in Quebec ”. Meanwhile, people aged 75 and over will drop from 8.8% of the population to 12.6%. “What is terrible is that this is something you couldn't not have known. There is nothing more predictable than demographics when it comes to people who are already born. There is something sad that, knowing that […], we have done so little, ”says Mr. Dubuc.
Craze for accommodation
In comparison with other Canadian provinces, "Quebec stands out for the high proportion of elderly people living in collective housing", indicates the study entitled Home care: the status quo will no longer be possible . In the province, 9.4% of seniors aged 65 and over live in collective housing, compared to 6.8% in Canada. This gap can be explained in particular by the strong popularity of private seniors' residences: in Quebec, 5% of 65-year-olds live there, compared to 2.8% in Canada.
The proportion of people aged 65 and over in Quebec is currently 20% and will increase to 25.4% in 10 years, reads the study by the IDQ, which describes itself as a "non-profit organization. lucrative, which publishes research and studies on contemporary socioeconomic issues in Quebec ”. Meanwhile, people aged 75 and over will drop from 8.8% of the population to 12.6%. “What is terrible is that this is something you couldn't not have known. There is nothing more predictable than demographics when it comes to people who are already born. There is something sad that, knowing that […], we have done so little, ”says Mr. Dubuc.
Craze for accommodation
In comparison with other Canadian provinces, "Quebec stands out for the high proportion of elderly people living in collective housing", indicates the study entitled Home care: the status quo will no longer be possible . In the province, 9.4% of seniors aged 65 and over live in collective housing, compared to 6.8% in Canada. This gap can be explained in particular by the strong popularity of private seniors' residences: in Quebec, 5% of 65-year-olds live there, compared to 2.8% in Canada.
Nearly three quarters of the funds intended to support the autonomy of the elderly are devoted to accommodation in Quebec, we read in the study. Mr. Dubuc notes that recent governments are reinvesting in home care. The Legault government, for example, has invested $ 750 million over five years in this sector.
But the coast remains steep to climb, according to the author. While Quebec had 154.8 home care users per 1,000 people aged 65 and over in 2008-2009, this proportion dropped to 113.8 in 2019-2020.
For Mr. Dubuc, current home care initiatives “do not fit into a planned and structured project”. "If we continue like this, even adding a few hundred million per year, we will come to a dead end," he said.
Among the solutions proposed, Mr. Dubuc mentions autonomy insurance, a project dear to former Minister Réjean Hébert, which would make it possible to "define the type and quantity of care that a person needs, and to guarantee him a number of 'hours of service or a financial allowance to purchase the services'. It also proposes the creation of one-stop shops, which would facilitate and standardize access to home care. For Mr. Dubuc, this real “revolution” that Quebec must operate in its care for the elderly will require colossal investments, but must become a “collective project”.
But the coast remains steep to climb, according to the author. While Quebec had 154.8 home care users per 1,000 people aged 65 and over in 2008-2009, this proportion dropped to 113.8 in 2019-2020.
For Mr. Dubuc, current home care initiatives “do not fit into a planned and structured project”. "If we continue like this, even adding a few hundred million per year, we will come to a dead end," he said.
Among the solutions proposed, Mr. Dubuc mentions autonomy insurance, a project dear to former Minister Réjean Hébert, which would make it possible to "define the type and quantity of care that a person needs, and to guarantee him a number of 'hours of service or a financial allowance to purchase the services'. It also proposes the creation of one-stop shops, which would facilitate and standardize access to home care. For Mr. Dubuc, this real “revolution” that Quebec must operate in its care for the elderly will require colossal investments, but must become a “collective project”.
ARIANE LACOURSIERE
PRESS
https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/sante/2021-08-26/soins-a-domicile/appel-a-une-revolution-sous-peine-de-frapper-un-mur.php
PRESS
https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/sante/2021-08-26/soins-a-domicile/appel-a-une-revolution-sous-peine-de-frapper-un-mur.php
