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IRPP study critical of for-profit long-term care

'Two-thirds of new residential-care beds built in Ontario since 1998 have been in for-profit homes."

Toronto (28 Jan. 2011) - Fewer nurses, higher staff turnover, more bedsores, pneumonia, anemia and dehydration.

These are the issues facing Canada's aging population as more provinces – especially Ontario – allow the for-profit sector to drive the creation of much-needed long-term care facilities, says a new study reported by the Toronto Star.

Download IRPP Study - Residential Long-Term Care for Canadian Seniors

The Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) says a mounting body of research points to a significant "quality gap" between homes built by the private sector and those built by non-profit or public organizations.

Lower staffing levels, for instance, in for-profit homes have been blamed for higher hospitalization rates among senior residents for issues such as pressure sores, pneumonia and dehydration, the IRPP study notes.

Yet almost two-thirds of new residential care beds built in Ontario since 1998 have been in for-profit homes. That's a much higher rate than in other provinces where governments are also turning increasingly to the private sector to cope with Canada's aging population, says Margaret McGregor, co-author of the study.

McGregor is a professor and research associate at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

In the next 30 years, about 120,000 new long-term care beds will be needed to handle the estimated 1.6 million residents who will be 85 and older, the study estimates. The 41-page report analyzes research from a number of independent studies in the U.S. and Canada.

Currently, only one in five Canadian seniors requires long-term care, the report says. While this may seem a relatively small number, Canada actually has one of the highest rates of institutionalization in the world when compared to countries such as Denmark, which have created a host of programs to keep seniors in their homes as long as possible, McGregor notes.

The report does not recommend a moratorium on new for-profit homes but it does call for a number of measures to improve quality. These range from mandatory minimum staffing levels – at least 3.5 hours of care per day per resident – to regular surprise inspections and anonymous surveys of residents, family and staff.

McGregor says many homes currently provide less than three hours of care per day per resident.

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More information:
IRPP Study: Residential Long-Term Care for Canadian Seniors