A new report sheds light on the thoughts of home support clients and their family members.
The B.C. Seniors Advocate has released a report on the findings of the first ever provincewide survey of home support clients and their families. Conducted in the fall of 2015, the survey received input from 5,336 clients and 4,040 family members.
“We have heard the collective voice of almost 10,000 seniors and their family members on how they rate the quality and effectiveness of our provincial home support program,” B.C. Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie said in a press release. “There was some good news in the results, as well as clear messages about where there are opportunities for improvements.”
Among the findings:
* 62 per cent are satisfied with the quality of the home-support services they receive.
* People want more services to be available to them, such as housekeeping (28 per cent) and meal preparation (12 per cent).
* 92 per cent of respondents stated that home staff are caring and respectful, but 20 per cent say they get too many different workers.
* Only 47 per cent of clients think their workers have all of the necessary skills to provide good care.
“We need to look at how the housekeeping and meal preparation needs of our clients can be better met, how we can reduce the number of different workers involved in care delivery, and how we can increase the skills of a workforce that is highly compassionate,” Mackenzie said.
In addition to questions about home-support services, the survey also asked clients about their use and awareness of medications.
Although 80 per cent of clients knew how many medications they were taking, there was a much lower rate of awareness around why they were using them. Only 59 per cent knew why they were taking all of their medications and only 17 per cent knew the side effects of all their medications.
“Clearly, all of us involved in the care of seniors, from physicians and pharmacists to nurses and family members, need to be more diligent about communicating possible side effects of medications,” Mackenzie said. “This is important at any age, but particularly crucial for seniors because, in some cases, we might thing there is a cognitive impairment or permanent condition when, in fact, what we are seeing is a side effect from one of the many medications some seniors are prescribed.”
You can view the home-support survey report at www.seniorsadvocate.ca. The Office of the Seniors Advocate also provide information and referral services at 1-877-952-3181.
Seniors Advocate seeks volunteers
British Columbia’s seniors’ advocate is still in need of volunteers for a survey of 27,000 seniors living in residential care facilities across the province.
Volunteers are asking residents a range of questions on topics such as food, safety and security, privacy, comfort, respect and responsiveness of staff, personal relationships, medication and activities in the facility. The survey will focus on 303 residential care facilities in B.C.
“This is the first time in this province that we have had volunteers sit face to face with some of our most vulnerable seniors on such a large scale, and the feedback we’re receiving from both volunteers and seniors themselves is very positive,” B.C. Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie said in a press release.
Results of the survey will provide a roadmap to improve quality of care and services to people in residential care and their families.
Each volunteer will be assigned to a facility and will be responsible for surveying a certain number of residents in that facility. Volunteers will be screened and, if suitable, will participate in a one-day training session and asked to commit to at least 30 hours over the survey period.
To volunteer, visit www.surveybcseniors.org or call the Office of the Seniors Advocate’s office at 1-877-952-3181.
