A Vision for Home and Community Care
A strengthened home and community care sector is essential to the sustainability of Canada’s health care system as a whole.
Home and community care is for people of all ages and any diagnosis, at home or in another community location such as a day program or a “supported living” centre. Home and community care services assist people to remain in their own homes and communities, in the residence of their choice; substitute for acute hospital care; and provide an alternative to long-term residential care in nursing homes or other facilities. These services support the family and friends who, in most cases, provide the majority of the care. Well-planned home and community care is part of a network of services, and can organize help from volunteers and others on behalf of an individual client and family.
The Challenge
The challenge is to develop an integrated health care system that includes home and community care services and meets and respects the values of Canadians today and in the future.
Although the funding for home and community care has increased in recent years, the resources have declined relative to the demands upon them. These demands come from changes in the hospital sector, (decrease in the number of hospital beds, shortened hospital stays), changes in the long term care sector (people prefer to live in their own homes as they age) and changes in Canada’s demographics (aging population, sandwich generation, increase in women in the workplace).
The Vision
We envisage the establishment of an equitable standard of home and community care in Canada, including the provision of a basic set of core services. As an integral and essential aspect of health care, home and community care would be governed by principles of universality, accessibility, comprehensiveness, portability, and public administration. Our vision for home and community care includes:
- National standards that establish the basic set of core services that would ensure that consistent services are in place, are accessible, and are delivered.
- National values to drive the delivery of home and community care services that are responsive, flexible, client – centred, innovative and accountable.
- Minimum quality standards and monitoring mechanisms for the development and performance of home and community care in the provinces and territories.
- A systemic approach to health care based on collaboration to make “continuity of care” a reality.
- A stable workforce with greater focus on education and training.
Achieving the Vision
Achieving our vision of home and community care requires concrete action that will strengthen policies, services, infrastructure and human resources. We recommend the following essential steps.
- Establish national principles for home and community care.
- Establish a basic set of core services that is accessible to Canadians in their homes and communities.
- Create a ‘systems’ approach in health care planning and delivery – one that includes home and community care.
- Devote new federal resources to raise provincial home and community care to the minimum standard.
- Build the quality and accountability of home and community care through infrastructure developments (information systems, standardized classification system, standardized assessment tool); through research; and through the dissemination of best practices.
- Reduce competition within the health care system and among provinces for scarce health care workers, increase educational opportunities, and establish equitable wages for home and community care workers.
- Establish a national PharmaCare program, including coverage for people receiving home and community care.
The Canadian Home Care Association and the Canadian Association for Community Care, collectively represent home care programs, community support programs, forprofit and not-for-profit service providers, long-term care facilities, planning bodies, professionals and paraprofessionals in home and community care, educators, researchers, suppliers and manufacturers of home care products, pharmaceutical manufacturers and last, but far from least, the users of home and community care services.
For more information contact:
Nadine Henningsen Executive Director Canadian Home Care Association 613-569-1585 www.cdnhomecare.on.ca
Dr. Taylor Alexander, RSW President & CEO Canadian Association for Community Care 613-241-7510 www.cacc-acssc.com