Vancouver City Council |
MOTION ON NOTICE
Submitted by Councillor Louie for June 10 Regular Council Meeting
Home Support
MOVER: Councillor Louie
SECONDER: Mayor Campbell
WHEREAS the province of British Columbia will receive funds from the federal government under the First Ministers Accord on Health Care Renewal for the delivery of home care services from 2002-2006; and
WHEREAS this funding was designated under the Health Accord to be directed only to palliative, mental health and post-acute care home care, which made no provision for home support for the frail elderly, the chronically ill or people with disabilities; and
WHEREAS home support, a part of the home care program, maintains safe, healthy living environments for frail seniors, the chronically ill, and people with disabilities; allowing them to live with dignity in their own homes; and
WHEREAS a decade of cutbacks has caused shortages of long term care and continuing care beds in communities throughout the entire province; and
WHEREAS high demand and service cuts have obliged citizens in need of care to move from their own homes, and unnecessarily increased demands on institutional and acute care services; and
WHEREAS people with disabilities and elder citizens of our society are entitled to be treated with respect and dignity; and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Vancouver, through the Union of BC Municipalities strongly encourage the Health Authorities and the provincial government to enhance the Home Care program, and particularly home support, for frail elderly, chronically ill and people with disabilities in order to prevent the clients of this service from requiring more expensive and dislocating institutional care; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Vancouver, through the Union of BC Municipalities strongly encourage the Health Authorities and the provincial government to reinstate the home support services and to budget sufficient funds to keep them in place.
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