Nanaimo couple raises concerns after 3 home care visits cancelled by Island Health

One couple on Vancouver Island is calling for better access to home care, after they say multiple planned home support visits were cancelled — leaving them on the hook to care for their elderly parents.

Noel Ainsley lives in Naniamo, and says his bedridden mother-in-law with advanced dementia was supposed to receive four home support visits this past weekend from Island Health. Instead, he said, she only received one brief visit in a 24 hour period, while he and his wife took care of the rest.

He said Island Health normally limits cancellations to one appointment, if needed, not multiple over the same weekend.

“Once in a while we understand it, but this is very frustrating.”

Ainsley said it was lucky he and his wife weren’t out of town and could fill in the gaps.

According to Ainsley, he was told by both dispatch and a nurse that the cancellations were due to an overtime ban that came down from a clinical operation manager at Island Health. 

Island Health disputed that, saying in a statement that overtime has not been eliminated or banned, and overtime staffing is permitted to support critical home support visits when clients are not able to be supported by anyone else. 

Island Health said there could be a variety of reasons for appointments being cancelled, such as complexity of care required for that client, if other clients or patient families cancel, or staffing — and that summer long weekends in particular are always a challenge.

Island Health said it couldn’t comment specifically on Ainsley’s case, but that most home support clients have back-up plans in place to ensure care needs are met when last minute changes occur. It said clients with the highest care needs or no back-up plans are the highest priority for home support visits. In situations where re-scheduling a visit is necessary, Island Health said clients with optional non-critical visits may be re-scheduled. 

Ainsley and his wife live nearby to her parents, and are able to provide care if needed in the event of a cancellation.

But Ainsley said that’s not a solution. He said he and his wife have rarely been able to travel or go out together over the past five years while caring for her elderly parents in case they’re called on for a cancellation.

“We’ve been at events, or we’ve gone out for dinner, and we’ve got the call that nobody’s coming tonight,” said Ainsley.

Island Health said approximately 97.9 per cent of its home support visits are completed as scheduled.

State of at-home care

B.C. Seniors Advocate Dan Levitt said there’s a systemic failure when it comes to how home care is delivered, not just on Vancouver Island, but across the province. 

He said service is often inconsistent, with missed and cancelled appointments, which can cause physical and mental stress for patients, and emotional and financial stress for their families. 

Levitt said there needs to be a provincial plan to address staffing shortages and alleviate the need for overtime overall. 

“When home support doesn’t work, and the continuity care isn’t there, the shift really goes to the family to provide that care, and ultimately, the senior isn’t getting the care they should be getting,” said Levitt. 

He said better funding is needed to make home care a reliable service.

Ainsley agreed. He said even subsidized, the service costs thousands of dollars a month, just for him and his wife to have to provide care anyways. 

“We have 30 years of underfunding in pretty much all all areas of public life, it’s not a financial solution to just cancel service, especially a service that’s needed.”