Home support services in most industrialized jurisdictions were developed a long time ago and, as such, are ill-equipped to meet the current and future needs of their populations. Quebec’s home support ecosystem is no exception
The results of the Health and Welfare Commissioner’s work on home care and support services are clear: the situation is concerning. The current lack of efficiency jeopardizes
the long-term viability of our services.
The home support ecosystem is:
• built on weak foundations;
• complex, non-integrated and inefficient;
• based on programs and measures with inconsistent eligibility requirements;
• financially unsustainable.
A transformation is needed. We need to create a momentum for change that will enable us to meet the current and future challenges of home support services.
How?
The Commissioner has identified a number of initiatives that could help build this momentum and achieve the ambitious goal of improving seniors’ ability to maintaining
autonomy and remaining independent for as long as possible.
Solutions do exist, and answers can be provided right now. These include:
• moving from a home support-centered approach to a government approach
to maintaining autonomy;
• strengthening the foundations of home support;
• providing better support to the population;
• ensuring that the government supports innovation and ensures the sustainability
of promising initiatives to generate value.
The next few years will be critical.
