May 10, 2005
Once again the NDP is issuing misleading statements about long-term care and seniors' beds.
FACT: Seniors spend less time waiting for a residential care bed under the BC Liberal government:
Wait for a residential care bed under the NDP (2000) = 360 days. (Source: Vancouver Sun, 25 Feb 2000)
Wait for a residential care bed today (Interior) = 77 days. (Source: Average wait time for residential care services, Interior Health Authority)
FACT: Deni House and Cariboo Lodge were "older facilities [that] no longer meet the needs of people who require 24-hour professional care….Their rooms are not large enough to accommodate wheelchairs and equipment, such as bed lifts, and with shared bathrooms and bedrooms, they do not provide the privacy our seniors deserve." (Source: Interior Health Authority)
FACT: Deni House and Cariboo Lodge have been replaced by the Williams Lake Seniors Village which has 68 residential care beds and 33 assisted living units.
FACT: Since 2001, the BC Liberal government has built more than 4,000 new, replacement or upgraded residential care and assisted living units for seniors. By 2008, we will have achieved our goal of adding 5,000 new beds for seniors across the spectrum of assisted living, residential care and independent housing.
FACT: 1,700 new seniors’ bed units being built right now.
FACT: Under the NDP between 1993 and 1999 the number of long-term care beds declined by 18%. (source: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives)
FACT: A 2002 inventory of residential care found that HALF of the existing residential care beds were either unsalvageable and required outright replacement, or needed upgrading in order to be used for complex care. Many beds failed to meet modern building and fire codes; resident rooms were overcrowded; hallways and washrooms were too narrow for wheelchairs. Since 2001, we have been renovating, replacing or upgrading thousands of these units.
