Health Minister Terry Lake has issued the following statement on the Office of the Seniors Advocate’s report entitled “Seniors Housing: Affordability, Accessibility, Availability”:

“The ministry shares the seniors advocate’s commitment to high-quality patient-centred senior’s care and we appreciate her work in examining concerns raised by older adults. This is exactly why we established this office.

“I’d like to thank her for this report. It is a thorough examination of the wide spectrum of housing for seniors as they age and how we can improve care and support for our growing aging population.

“We agree with many of the general findings of this report and will act on the majority of recommendations that pertain to the Ministry of Health.

“Actions include work to identify a new approach to Registered Assisted Living to accommodate a greater range of seniors, reducing premature or inappropriate admission into residential care and improving the process for ranking preferred facility transfer request, along with providing greater transparency for seniors and their families in that process.

“Some of the recommendations have wide-reaching implications for the health authorities, for the ministry and for the seniors’ housing sector, and will need further analysis before we can commit to an approach.

“The seniors advocate’s report closely aligns with the ministry’s overarching strategic direction set out in the ministry’s policy paper released last year, Primary and Community Care in BC, which places patient needs at the centre of our work. It asks difficult questions and looks at how we can better design our services to meet the needs of our aging population.

“We will use the findings and recommendations in this report to guide the work we are doing to provide more patient-centred care and integrated supports for seniors in the community and at home where they live.”

Media Contacts:

Laura Heinze
Media Relations Manager
Ministry of Health
250 952-1887 (media line)