Angry Calgary seniors lament health-care cuts

Presentation derailed by complaints

By Eva Ferguson, Calgary Herald

Seething over a lack of quality health care, a costly drug plan, growing wait times and elder abuse in nursing homes, close to 100 seniors peppered an Alberta Health Services staffer Tuesday.

The representative was at the Kingsland community hall simply to inform seniors on how to prevent falls.

"They're here to talk about issues much bigger than that," said Ted Woynillowicz, a member of Friends of Medicare.

Pam Brown, executive director for Alberta Health Services' integrated seniors health program, presented an overview on wellness and how seniors can prevent falling in their homes by placing furniture and rugs out of the way.

But seniors in attendance demanded answers to the larger questions of government overspending, a lack of acute care beds and shortfalls in long-term care, and then demanded the resignation of Stephen Duckett, president of Alberta Health Services.

Brown said that as an employee of AHS, she wasn't qualified to address the issues.

Seniors were still wanting answers. They said they were fearful about the future of health care in what they called an era of severe cutbacks, poor quality care and growing wait times for specialists and specific procedures.

"I know seniors who are waiting over eight months, some as long as a year, for hip and knee replacements," said Andrew Kohsel, president of the Coalition of Seniors Advocates.

Many were also worried about a proposed new drug plan, postponed until July 1, which will increase drug costs for higher-income seniors.

Angie Murray and her husband Tom said they're happy with the existing system, which asks seniors to pay 30 per cent of their pharmaceutical costs to a maximum of $25 per prescription, regardless of their income.

But under the new strategy, seniors will have to pay income-based premiums, as high as $63.50 extra a month for seniors earning more than $48,000 a year, in addition to a percentage of each prescription's cost.

"That's going to be really hard for a lot of seniors. It's just not fair, and a lot of people are really mad, I'm telling you," Murray said.

Nancy Ridgely, a single senior earning between $24,000 and $36,000 a year, said she'll have to pay $31.75 extra a month under the proposed plan.

"It's completely unfair. It's ridiculous, because I would actually have to pay more than a senior who is married and earning much more.

"A couple earning $71,000, for instance, would pay no more than $29.50 each.

"This is what makes me so angry, it's completely insane."

Kohsel added his group is constantly getting calls about elder abuse at nursing homes, and the lack of proper care because of staffing shortages and poor training.

"There are seniors who are left on the toilet for hours, because a staff person will take them there, and then just leave them, without checking back," Kohsel said.

"Imagine how terrible that would be."

Alberta's seniors population is expected to double, from 400,000 to 800,000, in the next two decades.

Woynillowicz argues with that kind of a demographic boom, the province will have to address issues that affect seniors more than ever, including long-term care.

A shortage of long-term care beds, with hundreds of seniors now on waiting lists, has been replaced by a new effort to subsidize for-profit assisted living centres, he said.

"Programs that many seniors still can't afford even with the subsidy."

Brown said she would relay the seniors' questions and concerns to the province and get back to them.

This article was published in the Calgary Herald on April 14, 2010. Read the full article on the CalgaryHerald.com website.