Wait times growing for seniors looking for residential care

B.C.'s seniors advocate Isobel Mackenzie says wait times for residential care spaces have increased compared to a year ago, and while more seniors are looking for space in care homes, the number of units has remained relatively flat.

Mackenzie estimated 10 per cent of the 27,000 seniors in care homes could be living in their own homes if the government provided improved home supports.

"This is the third year in a row we have seen it and now we are additionally seeing an increase in the length of stays for seniors," said Mackenzie.

Part of the problem is that seniors 85 and older have increased 21 per cent in B.C. since 2012, while the number of residential care beds has increased by just 3.5 per cent.

As of March 31, 2016, 918 individuals were on the waitlist for a subsidized registered assisted living unit in British Columbia.

Fixed income seniors struggling with rent

On Tuesday, the Office of the Seniors Advocate released its second annual report on seniors' service in British Columbia.

Mackenzie is asking the province to provide additional support for seniors renting homes while on a fixed income. The senior's advocate says she will be pushing over the next few months for the province to increase the cap on the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters program, which helps support seniors on fixed incomes who do not own their own homes.

"Seniors either own their own home or they are renters and they will never own their own home," said Mackenzie. "Those who are renters at age 75, 80, they are disproportionately poorer and won't be getting any richer."

Accessing home equity

For those seniors that own their homes, Mackenzie is suggesting the provincial government create a program that allows for greater access to the equity built up in the owned property.

The province currently allows seniors to defer property taxes until the home is sold, a program that saw an increase in usage last year.

But Mackenzie is suggesting a specific provincial program that will allow low income seniors to access the value of their home, without applying for the standard commercial reverse mortgage.

"We could go one step further and we could say, 'OK, you qualified for residential care, you want to live at home. OK, we will support you to this amount, say $3,000 a month because that is what we would be paying to keep you in care,'" said Mackenzie.

"That will not be enough to pay for your care at home. But here is a program where you can draw out $2,000 a month against your house to pay for the additional care and when your house is sold the money gets paid back to the province."

Other highlights from the report

• Ninety-two per cent of seniors report having a regular physician.
• Referrals to the Public Guardian and Trustee, which responds to allegations and investigates cases of financial abuse, neglect and self-neglect, is up seven per cent over last year.
• At the end of 2014/15, approximately 52,000 British Columbians were living with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's or another dementia, leaving four of five seniors 85 and over, with no diagnosed dementia.
• The number of residential care beds has increased 3.5 per cent since 2012, while the number of seniors aged 85 and older has increased by 21 per cent over the same period.
• In the past year, TransLink's unfilled HandyDART ride requests have decreased by 40 per cent, while B.C. Transit's unfilled HandyDART ride requests have increased by 13 per cent.

With files from The Canadian Press