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.
An older Canadian waits in emergency because there was no family doctor to call. A daughter leaves work again because the home-care visit was cancelled. A senior recovering from a fall stays in hospital longer than necessary because the right care is not available at home. A spouse sits beside a stretcher in a hallway and wonders how a country as wealthy as Canada let healthcare get to this point.
Families know what is happening. They do not need another round of political excuses.
Wait times are too long. Hallway medicine is the norm in too many places and it’s only going to get worse. Millions of Canadians cannot find a family doctor. Emergency departments are crowded, and in some communities they are closing or cutting hours. Surgeries and diagnostics get delayed. Home care is stretched thin. Long-term care is still underbuilt and understaffed. Doctors, nurses, PSWs and caregivers are being pushed past reason.
CARP has been warning 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.
Canada needs more family doctors and better access to primary care so people do not end up in emergency because there was nowhere else to go.
Canada needs more nurses, PSWs, home-care workers and geriatric specialists, with a real plan to recruit, retain and pay the people doing the work.
Canada needs hospitals that are properly staffed, emergency departments that stay open, and shorter waits for surgery, diagnostics and specialist care.
Canada needs a serious home and community care system. Aging at home cannot mean families are left on their own until a crisis forces someone into hospital. Home care should prevent emergencies, support caregivers, and keep people safer where they live.
Canada needs long-term care that is safe, humane and staffed well enough to meet the needs of residents.
Canada needs prevention treated 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.
Canada also needs 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.
Governments like to talk about “capacity.” CARP is talking about people.
A senior waiting on a stretcher is not a capacity problem to that family. A cancelled home-care visit is not a line item. A delayed surgery is not just a scheduling issue. These are real consequences of political failure and weak planning.
CARP’s new TV spot takes that fight back to the public. We are putting the issue where it belongs: in front of Canadians, in front of decision-makers, and in front of every politician who thinks older Canadians will keep waiting quietly.
They will not.
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.
Fix Healthcare Now.
#FixHealthCareNow
