A NATIONAL BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BALSILLIE PRIZE FOR PUBLIC POLICY
It took the coronavirus pandemic to open our eyes to the deplorable
state of so many of the nation's long-term care homes: the inhumane
conditions, overworked and underpaid staff, and lack of oversight. In
this timely new book, esteemed health reporter André Picard reveals the
full extent of the crisis in eldercare, and offers an urgently needed
prescription to fix a broken system.
When COVID-19 spread through seniors' residences across Canada, the
impact was horrific. Along with widespread illness and a devastating
death toll, the situation exposed a decades-old crisis: the shocking
systemic neglect towards our elders.
Called in to provide emergency care in some of the hardest-hit
facilities in Ontario and Quebec, the military issued damning reports of
what they encountered. And yet, the failings that were
exposed--unappetizing meals, infrequent baths, overmedication, physical
abuse and inadequate personal care--have persisted for years in these
institutions.
In Neglected No More, André Picard takes a hard look at how we came to
embrace mass institutionalization, and lays out what can and must be
done to improve the state of care for our elders, a highly vulnerable
population with complex needs and little ability to advocate for
themselves.
Picard shows that the entire eldercare system--fragmented, underfunded
and unsupported--is long overdue for a fundamental rethink. We need to
find ways to ensure seniors can age gracefully in the community for
longer, with supportive home care and respite for family caregivers, and
ensure that long-term care homes are not warehouses of isolation and
neglect. Our elders deserve nothing less.
