It seems there’s a shortage of everything in health care these days: nurses, family doctors, caregivers. Those who suffer the most are the sick and the elderly and usually, the two are in the same package.  With the shortage of health care professionals at an all time high, resources are stretched thin and patient regard gets put on the back burner. Far too often, both in private and public health care settings, patients are being denied their basic rights to adequate care.   Whether it’s neglect of personal hygiene or lack of exercise, caregivers seem to be failing. 

 The media eats up stories about a failing health care system such as the one written in the Montreal Gazette today about lack of care in a public nursing home.  We quickly search for someone to blame but when the system starts to fall, we need to understand why and what solutions exist to help correct it.

 When hiring caregivers, it is crucial that they go through stringent background checks, ascertain their clinical skills and possess a “sixth sense” when it comes to patient care.  As with all medical professions, it is important that caregivers stay on top of their game and continually sharpen their skills and their approach to patient care.  Providing additional education or training courses ensures that caregivers are refreshed and re-engaged into their field. It’s not just about improving caregivers’ skills though, it’s also about who gives them guidance.  Caregivers deserve clear direction and without proper supervision or management, patients are likely to experience damaging consequences.

 At Equinoxe, we take this issue of training and professional oversight very seriously.  As a result, we support our philosophy with an extensive training program that allows our caregivers the opportunity to learn in a professional environment while obtaining a higher skill set necessary for enhanced patient care.  Additionally, caregivers are supervised by Care Managers.  Care Managers are professionals whose service helps maximize the function and comfort of sick or elderly patients.  Care Management is the organization, coordination and supervision of services that improve their quality of life while monitoring costs and changing needs.  By addressing the physical, emotional and social needs of a client, a care manager advocates for the patient by being the patient’s eyes and ears.  Care managers ensure the most appropriate services are being administered, provide professional support and on going supervision by determining the need for and managing day to day services for the short or long term. 

 In order to ensure that patients are receiving better care, the onus of all professional institutions in the health care system is to reinforce a similar ideology on training and professional oversight.  Private in-home care companies, families, long term care facilities, assisted living facilities, public nursing homes and private residences all need to maintain higher standards of caregiving.  By striving for the highest quality of care possible, we can solidify the future of our caregivers and master the provision of health care services.