CARP’s new TV spot is on the air. Watch it, share it, and help us put healthcare back where it belongs: at the top of the political agenda.
A senior takes another place in an overcrowded emergency room because they had no family doctor to call.
A daughter leaves work again because the promised home-care visit was cancelled.
A man recovering from a fall stays in the hospital longer than he should because there is no support ready at home.
A spouse sits beside a stretcher in a hallway, trying to get an answer from staff who are already run off their feet and wonders how a country as wealthy as Canada lets healthcare get to this point?
That is what healthcare looks like for too many Canadians.
CARP’s new TV spot is on the air because older Canadians and their families are tired of being told to wait. Wait for a doctor. Wait for surgery. Wait for a bed. Wait for home care. Wait for governments to notice what patients, caregivers, nurses, doctors and families have been saying for years.
The system is not keeping up.
Wait times are too long. Hallway medicine is becoming normal in too many places, and the pressure is only going to grow. Millions of Canadians cannot find a family doctor. Emergency departments are crowded, and some communities are seeing closures or reduced hours. Surgeries and diagnostics are delayed. Home care is stretched thin. Long-term care remains underbuilt and understaffed. Doctors, nurses, PSWs and caregivers are being pushed beyond what any system should ask of them.
CARP has warned governments about this for years.
We launched Fix Healthcare Now because older Canadians were already telling us the system was failing them. They told us about waiting in pain, losing access to primary care, sitting for hours in emergency rooms, watching spouses decline while home care lagged behind, and trying to navigate a system that too often puts the burden back on families.
The politicians have had the warnings. They have had the reports. They have had the demographic charts. They knew the baby boom generation would age. They knew more Canadians would need care at home, more would need surgery, more would need chronic-disease support, and more would need long-term care.
CARP is demanding action. But we need all of you to force the policy-makers’ hands.
More family doctors and better access to primary care (RPNs, Urgent Care) so people do not end up in emergency because there is nowhere else to go.
More nurses, PSWs, home-care workers and geriatric specialists, with a real plan to recruit, retain and pay the people doing the work.
Hospitals that are properly staffed, emergency departments that stay open, and shorter waits for surgery, diagnostics and specialist care.
A serious home and community care system. Aging at home cannot mean families are left on their own until a crisis forces someone into hospitals. Home care should prevent emergencies, support caregivers, and keep people safer where they live.
Long-term care that is safe, humane and staffed well enough to meet the needs of residents with person-centred, home-like environments.
Prevention as healthcare policy. Falls prevention, medication reviews, chronic disease management, vaccination, dementia supports, mobility programs and caregiver respite all keep people out of crisis care.
Accountability. Canadians deserve to know where healthcare dollars are going, what governments are actually buying with those dollars, and why so many people still cannot get timely care.
CARP is demanding action, and we need current members and new members to help force the issue. Governments move when voters make them move. Older Canadians, caregivers and families need to be louder, more organized and harder to ignore.
CARP members have fought before, and CARP members have won before. Governments listen when older Canadians organize, speak clearly, and show political strength.
That is why membership matters.
Every new CARP member makes our voice harder to dismiss. Every member adds weight when we demand better healthcare, stronger home care, safer long-term care, more doctors, more nurses, more PSWs and shorter wait times.
Watch the spot. Share it with your family and friends. Send it to your elected representatives. Tell them healthcare has to be fixed.
Then join CARP. https://join.carp.ca/tv
A stronger CARP means a stronger fight for older Canadians and the families who care for them.
Join CARP. Join the fight.
#FixHealthCareNow
