There is an urgent and growing need for primary care for older adults in Ontario that deserves more attention, health hub proponents say.
Advocates for seniors’ health have been watching with alarm as the numbers of Ottawa seniors without primary care grow. It is a worsening problem that requires greater attention than it has been getting, says Carolyn Inch.
Inch is part of an Ottawa group proposing what it calls a cost-effective and scalable solution to widening primary care gaps among older residents. The Seniors Health Innovations Hub has a plan to set up neighbourhood nurse practitioner clinics for unattached seniors in central Ottawa.
There are currently 10,000 seniors in Ottawa without primary care, the organization says. And numbers are growing.
At a time when some 2.5 million Ontario residents are without primary care, the situation is becoming more urgent for seniors, who are more likely to use the healthcare system. In Ottawa, seniors 65 and over are now the fastest-growing demographic without access to reliable primary care. Between 2022 and 2023, the number of Ontario residents over 80 in that position surged by more than 20 per cent.
Despite inflows of federal money and provincial funding announcements, the Seniors Health Innovations Hub says the province has failed to address the growing crisis of seniors without access to primary care and many are feeling abandoned.
Their proposal, which has been in the works for several years, is in partnership with Perley Health and the Centretown Community Health Centre for administrative and physician support. The group put the proposal to the provincial government when it asked for such innovative ideas in 2023. Despite widespread support for the idea, it was not among those approved for funding.
Evening Update
Inch said seniors can’t continue to wait.
The volunteer group is chaired by Margaret Tansey, a nurse practitioner who has held numerous senior healthcare positions. In addition to primary care for seniors the group focuses on home care, technology and other ways to promote aging at home.
Earlier this year, the Ontario government announced a five-year plan, crafted by former federal health minister Dr. Jane Philpott, to provide primary care to every Ontario resident. That announcement came just before the Progressive Conservative government triggered an early election in Ontario. During the campaign, all major parties have committed to providing primary care to all Ontario residents.
Proponents of the Seniors Health Innovations Hub call the Philpott plan “promising” but say it will take too long for many seniors.
“We are certainly supportive, but for someone over 80 who doesn’t have a doctor, that seems too long,” said Inch.
The group’s proposal is designed for central Ottawa but Inch said it could easily be replicated elsewhere.
Nurse practitioners already deliver primary care across the province in community health centres, family health teams and a small number of nurse-practitioner-led clinics.
“Their nursing backgrounds and advanced training align well with helping seniors prevent and manage age-related chronic diseases, co-morbidities and disabilities and their holistic approach supports aging in place,” says a document from Seniors Health Innovations Hub.
Inch said the group is trying to get the attention of Philpott’s team to consider their proposed plan as a way to expedite access to care for older Ontario residents in need it.
“We have written to them. We want them to be aware of the ease of implementation (of this proposal) and the timeframe we could do that in,” said Inch. She said the model aligns with Philpott’s vision for neighbourhood “health homes” as part of primary care coverage.
She said other communities could use the model and build “ready-made team-based medicine” for seniors by partnering with local institutions involved in providing healthcare along with nurse practitioners.
Inch, who is a retired veterinarian, said the idea was sparked by a committed group of older adults living in the Old Ottawa South area, many of whom had either lost their family physician or knew others who had. They turned to nurse practitioners and others for help developing the plan.
She said often older adults lose their physicians when they retire and it can be more difficult for find a clinic that will take them on as patients because their health-care needs can be perceived as high or complex.
The SHIH proposal would start with a single nurse practitioner clinic for seniors staffed by two NPs, a registered nurse and a registered practical nurse as well as a medical receptionist. Administrative support, allied health services and physician assistance would be provided by Perley Health and the Centretown Community Health Centre.
The group estimates 1,500 seniors could be on the clinic’s roster in the first year and could expand from there, in Ottawa and other communities based on the model.
The Seniors Health Innovation Hub is encouraging people to ask local candidates during the election campaign about their party’s plans to ensure older adults have primary care “before it is too late.”
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