Home Care Must Be Part of the Solution to Our Healthcare Crisis

The 'Health Care Crisis' has been all over the headlines in British Columbia as we suffer with overcrowded hospitals and staffing shortages which has led to delays in British Columbian's accessing the healthcare they need. Home Care needs to be part of the solution and we need our provincial government recognise and support this obvious and affordable solution. 

It takes time and significant capital expenditures to add capacity to our exiting acute care hospitals, whereas Home Care can be delivered quickly, and perhaps most importantly, can keep people--particularly seniors--out of hospital in the first place by keeping them healthy at home.

Home Care can Relieve the Healthcare Crisis in a Number of Ways:

Reducing Hospital Readmissions: Home Care can provide follow-up care for patients who have been discharged from the hospital, reducing the likelihood of readmission. 

Empty hospital beds = room for admissions.
Faster admissions = Paramedics getting back out on the roads.

More Paramedics on the roads = faster response times and improved health outcomes (seniors waiting 6+ hours for an ambulance when they've fallen and broken a hip is simply unacceptable).

Lowering Healthcare Costs: Home Care is far less expensive than hospital and can be more affordable than nursing home care, which can help to lower overall healthcare costs.

Improving Patient Outcomes: Home Care can provide continuity of care which leads to improved patient outcomes.

Reducing the Burden on Hospitals and Nursing Homes: By providing care at home, Home Care can reduce the number of patients who need to be admitted to hospitals or Assisted Living or Long Term Care facilities, which can help to alleviate the financial burden on our Ministry of Health.

Improving Patient Satisfaction: Home Care allows patients to receive care in the comfort and familiarity of their own homes, which can improve patient satisfaction.

Supporting Ageing in Place: Home Care can help seniors to age in place improves their overall well-being and can reduce the need for institutional care.

Providing Care during Pandemics: Home Care can provide care during pandemics and other crises, which can reduce the spread of infection and can help to protect vulnerable populations like seniors.

Overall, Home Care can play a critical role in relieving the healthcare crisis by providing cost-effective, patient-centered care that supports ageing in place, reduces hospital readmissions, and improves patient outcomes.

We need to put the choice back in the consumer's hands. ie: once a patient recovering from a Total Hip Replacement is medically stable and assessed safe to transfer and walk six metres, they will be given a choice of recovery support options. The physician and Discharge Coordinator or Social Worker will assign the patient an appropriate level of support.

Each Health Authority will have recovery support options for patients discharging from acute care hospitals based on the severity of the health issue. As an example, a Total Hip Replacement could have three options:

Level 1: appropriate for patients over 55 with no serious pre-existing health concerns or post-op complications (like a hospital-acquired infection which prolonged recovery). Support would include:

    - 2 hours of in-home Physio to oversee mobility recovery

    - 4 hours of Nursing support by a RN to oversee health recovery and pain management

    - 28 hours of Home Support

    - 56 hours of Homemaking support

*approximate cost = $3,900 (two weeks of support in the home costs the same as ONE DAY in an acute care hospital bed).

Level 2: appropriate for patients over 65 with no or mild pre-existing health concerns or post-op complications. Support would include:

    - 4 hours of in-home Physio to oversee mobility recovery

    - 6 hours of Nursing support by a RN to oversee health recovery and pain management

    - 56 hours of Home Support

    - 70 hours of Homemaking support

*approximate cost = $6,000 (three weeks of support in the home costs less than TWO DAYS in an acute care hospital bed).

Level 3: appropriate for patients over 75 with mild to moderate pre-existing health concerns or post-op complications. Support would include:

    - 6 hours of in-home Physio to oversee mobility recovery

    - 8 hours of Nursing support by a RN to oversee health recovery and pain management

    - 70 hours of Home Support

    - 120 hours of Homemaking support

*approximate cost = $9,000 (four weeks of support in the home costs less than THREE DAYS in an acute care hospital bed).

Patients would have the choice of using some or all of the support services available; they would also have the choice of decreasing the care slowly by choosing to use services daily the first week, five times the second week, then every second or third day the remaining weeks. 

Obviously offering recovery support services would create significant cost savings as not every patient would use all of the services whereas patients sitting in an acute care hospital bed still cost the system thousands every day even when they no longer require acute care.

Patients would have the option of using a Physio Therapist and Home Support agency of their choice (who meet minimum licensing standards) and having the Health Authority subsidise the equivalent or turning to the Health Authority for support services. Patients should be discharged as soon as services are available; patients should not have their discharged delayed because a Health Authority cannot get public services organised for several days or a week if a private agency can have services in place within 24-hours.