Each provincial authority outlines the eligibility for long-term care, although the guidelines are all similar in each province. The thinking behind eligibility is whether the patient’s needs can be met at home with a family caregiver and/or extra home care or in an assisted living environment.
Those that are eligible for long-term care must be evaluated by a nurse or social worker and determined to have needs that exceed what can be offered in other environments. The individual has to have medical and/or behavioural or cognitive issues that require 24-hour skilled care.
All provincial health authorities try first to keep the patient in their home and with a family caregiver, if possible. However, sometimes the patient’s needs are beyond what the family member can manage or cope with, or the family member’s safety may be at risk.
Often those requiring long-term care have complex medical issues that are chronic. These complex needs can not be adequately met in a home-care or assisted-care environment.
Long-Term Care vs. Hospice Care
Please note that long-term care is not the same thing as hospice care. Hospice care is for end-of-life care in terminal illness. Long-term care is exactly that: care that is expected to go on for a long time. Someone in long-term care requiring hospice care would likely be moved into hospice care, which is a different type of care.
If you know someone you think needs long-term care, speak first to your family doctor, who can help you access the help you need, including caseworkers or case managers who determine that long-term care is needed. If someone is hospitalized, ask a physician or nurse familiar with the individual’s case for help.