New reports share resident and family experiences in continuing care
Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) released survey results of residents and family members’ experiences in long term care (LTC) and designated supportive living (DSL).
In collaboration with Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services, HQCA conducted surveys of residents and family members between July 2022 to March 2023. The information collected and analyzed gives voice to residents living in these facilities and their families. The reports are shared with each site, Alberta Health, Alberta Health Services, operators, and leaders in continuing care to help inform improvements. Ultimately, these results are intended to guide reflection and assist in identifying quality improvement opportunities.
In general, the results have not changed from the last four LTC surveys and three DSL surveys that the HQCA has conducted.
“We have identified these as actions for improvement in our report. It doesn’t mean that improvements have not been made at the site level. It shows us there are areas in continuing care that continue to be a priority for residents and families, and that need to be addressed to improve their experiences.” says Charlene McBrien-Morrison, HQCA chief executive officer.
The greatest opportunities for improvement, according to the experiences reported by residents and families, relate to staffing, cleanliness, food, and compassion. For example:
- Staffing: 24 per cent of residents and 16 per cent of families in LTC feel there is always enough nurses and aides at their site.
- Cleanliness and hygiene: less than half of all family respondents said their loved one always looked and smelled clean.
- Food: 27 per cent of residents in LTC said they could always get the food they like.
- Compassion: in one of five new questions related to compassion, 27 per cent of residents in LTC strongly agreed that their healthcare providers were attentive to their needs.
2022-2023 continuing care data updates on Focus on Healthcare
A selection of the survey results is now available on the HQCA’s FOCUS on Healthcare website, https://focus.hqca.ca/.
The updates also include administrative measures such as:
- Emergency department visit frequency,
- Placement into preferred living option,
- Placement within 30 days, And more.