After two years of the pandemic, I still ask myself the same fundamental question: are we ready to face the acceleration of the aging of the population?
Posted at 4:00 p.m.
Seniors are not all losing their autonomy. These include your parents, who are extending their careers and who like to travel. It’s your grandparents, who ride a bike. Your aunts and uncles, who are in a book club. Semi-retired people who hold a part-time job in a business in your neighborhood. And volunteers who lend a hand in many organizations.
Their contribution to society is immense, whether for example in the labor market or with their families.
Healthy and active, these seniors will nevertheless have to seek health care sooner or later. What do you want, that’s life. We knew that this moment would come and that the demand for care would be greater due to the aging of the population. But our health care system does not seem to have adequately prepared for it.
That said, do these people really all need to be treated in hospital?
Prime Minister François Legault and his Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, want to carry out a “refoundation” of the health network. You have to get started quickly because the changes will not be made by snapping your fingers.
Failure is not an option. We must ensure that care responds to the wishes of Quebecers in order to ensure aging with dignity for today’s seniors, but also for those of tomorrow.
Prioritize home care and services
Like a boxer after a furious 12-round fight, our health care system is battered by two years of a pandemic.
In order to get him out of the hospitalocentrism that is leading him to his downfall, more than ever efforts must be made to develop home medical care worthy of the 21st century.and century.
Many examples, here and around the world, show that this avenue is a win-win for patients, but also for the healthcare network.
At the Réseau FADOQ, we receive tons of messages from seniors asking for the expansion of the home care and services offer. We must give them the tools so that they stay at home as long as possible. It is their dearest wish. Moreover, studies have shown that it is financially advantageous for the state.
Deep changes needed
Beyond the investments, which must at least reach the average of the countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the whole mode of operation of home care must be reviewed. The decentralization of establishments is necessary so that decisions are taken closer to the field.
To increase the supply of home care, we must continue to decompartmentalize the health professions.
The government and the professional orders must take major steps to ensure that everyone is involved in this revolution in care for the elderly.
It’s no secret, but it will also be necessary to attract young people to the field of health so that the network is ready to face what is to come. We must immediately improve working conditions, promote these jobs and increase the cohorts so that graduates can enter the labor market as quickly as possible.
There are many challenges for the Quebec health system. Home care and services are only part of the solution. We have to X-ray the whole system, even if we have a good idea of the diagnosis. And treatment must begin before it’s too late.