In recent years, the issue of home support services has been on everyone’s lips in Quebec. Last October, the Quebec government expressed its intention to prioritize home support services through the Minister of Health and Responsible for Seniors, Sonia Bélanger.
Then, on November 16, the Commissioner of Health and Well-being, Joanne Castonguay, published volume 3 of her report Aging well at homewhich mainly focuses on home support services.
Thus, we welcome the intentions of Mr.me Bélanger and the work of Mme Castonguay. However, we believe that we must go further than trying to dust off the home support services policy, which dates from 2003. We offer them our full collaboration in order to provide Quebec with the best possible home support services.
Our group, PartenaireSanté, brings together 17 patient associations that represent health conditions affecting approximately 90% of the population of Quebec. These people include serious and chronic illnesses — Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, cancer, heart disease, stroke-related complications, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, liver disease, hemophilia , Huntington’s disease, mental health problems, Parkinson’s disease, lung diseases, kidney diseases, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Take action
In the context of the overhaul of the health system and the imminent creation of the Santé Québec agency, we believe that the time is right to act and to ensure that beneficiaries have access to appropriate, consistent, equitable care. , integrated and evidence-based.
For some people with serious and chronic illnesses, staying at home as long as possible despite the need for care is very important. Being cared for at home can be very comforting, whether it is home health support or support with different daily tasks. This is a consensus among Quebecers since the care provided at home provides physical, emotional, social and spiritual comfort to people living with serious health problems.
Currently, more than 20,000 Quebecers are waiting to receive their first home support service. There were less than 10,000 in 2019. The number of people waiting has therefore grown very rapidly in recent years.
However, as Quebec’s population is aging, it appears that a growing portion of it will need care to treat various health problems. Proportionally, the population will therefore require more and more home health services, but also support for everyday activities, such as making purchases or maintaining their home.
So, if the situation does not change, the number of people waiting will continue to increase worryingly. It is therefore urgent to take action.
Possible solutions
It is essential that Quebec equips itself with a home care portfolio that is focused on the needs of the patient and promotes their autonomy. After all, home help aims to enable people to remain active while maintaining a certain degree of independence and freedom, and therefore quality of life.
Among the possible solutions, we are thinking of establishing better communication between beneficiaries, their families, attendants and care planning and delivery centers. We must also improve the training of agents to enable them to develop the skills necessary to meet the increasingly complex and varied needs of beneficiaries.
More resources must be devoted to increasing the capacity of attendants and improving their salaries and working conditions. We are also thinking about the introduction of advantageous tax measures for caregivers, who very often compensate for the services offered by the health network and who invest time, money and energy in supporting a loved one.
It is time to move from reflection to action, and from intentions to programs. Together, let’s join forces for home support services!
*Co-signed this letter: Dr Paul Eckford, Chief Scientific Officer, Cystic Fibrosis Canada; Brady Carballo-Hambleton, vice president, Heart & Stroke; Terry Dean, President, Canadian Lung Association; Claudine Cook, general director, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Society of Quebec; David Raynaud, Quebec Senior Manager for the Public Advocacy Team, Canadian Cancer Society; Heather Holmes, vice-president for eastern Canada, The Arthritis Society of Canada; Aline Ostrowski, general director of the Quebec section, Canadian Hemophilia Society; Francine Labelle, general director of the Quebec division, Kidney Foundation; Francine Lacroix, general director, Huntington Society of Quebec; Karen Lee, Executive Director, Parkinson Canada; Diego Mena Martinez, Director General of the Quebec Division, Multiple Sclerosis Canada.