At the 2014 Council of the Federation meeting in Charlottetown, PEI, provincial and territorial premiers, once again called for a National Plan on seniors' health care; nor were they the only ones advocating this. The Canadian Medical Association (CMA), the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP), the Canadian Health Coalition (CHC), and the Canadian Association of Retired Teachers (CART) have been vocal about the need for a Pan-Canadian, coordinated, comprehensive, long-term strategy to address the needs of Canada's ageing population. The CMA's 2014 national report card focuses on the impact an ageing population will have on the country's health system.
Life expectancy in Canada has grown by more than six years since 1979 and the proportion of seniors per population has grown from 8 per cent in 1970 to 17.3 per cent in 2014. The CMA survey shows:
- 95 per cent of seniors support a national strategy for senior's health care (up since last year)
- 81 per cent worry about the quality of health care they can expect, in the future
- 71 per cent are concerned about access to quality home and long term care
- 26 per cent of Canadians now provide care to ageing relatives, 64 per cent of these care-givers experience high levels of stress, and 71 per cent worry that this responsibility impacts their work and personal life
- 61 per cent worry that hospitals and long-term-care facilities will be unable to handle their needs or help seniors live longer at home
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