2000.02PU HOME CARE
Whereas:
in 1998 the National Council of Women of Canada adopted an Emergency Resolution urging the Government of Canada to work with the provinces to develop a national home care program with clear national standards which will ensure that: a wide range of appropriate, adequate home care services are available to people in their own homes regardless of the ability to pay; unpaid caregivers are given strong support; and
Whereas:
the government has not yet taken action, although a 1999 Canadian Association for the Fifty-Plus (CARP) Report on Home Care in Canada states that home care is under-funded, undervalued and overstressed, and shows that while spending on home care has increased, it has not kept pace with the growing demand for acute care substitution services in the home, as well as supportive services such as personal care and meal preparation which allows the patient to remain at home; and
Whereas:
changing technology has meant that both paid and unpaid caregivers may now be expected to administer more complex and sophisticated therapies in the home; and
Whereas:
the announcement of a new Canadian Institute for Health Research provides the opportunity to include an Institute for Nursing and Caregiving Research, an area where has been very little research; therefore be it
RESOLVED:
that the National Council of Women of Canada urge the Government of Canada to take leadership in the field of home care, working with the provinces and territories to ensure:
a. funding for appropriate and adequate home care services accessible to all Canadians in need of them, regardless of the ability to pay; and
b. the inclusion of an Institute for Nursing and Caregiving Research; and
c. a continuum of services from hospital to home; and
d. training for persons working in Home Care, with good and safe working conditions, including proper remuneration and appropriate travel costs and expenses; and
e. home care workers shall be bonded; and
f. support for the caregivers which includes:
g. adequate preparation to carry out the tasks she/he is expected to perform; and
h. periodic relief through provision of respite care; and
iii. help with her/his return to the workforce if she/he has been forced to leave employment for a significant period of time in order to be a caregiver.