How can we improve care at the end of life? Join us for a live conversation

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Last week, the Ottawa Citizen published Elizabeth Payne’s deeply personal and impactful first-person long read The fall.

Payne, a longtime health reporter, writes about watching her vibrant, independent 90-year-old father slowly deteriorate in the difficult health care system after falling and breaking his arm. He spent days on an emergency gurney, months in the hospital, then rehabilitation and finally in a long-term care facility. Long waits, staff shortages, overcrowding, COVID outbreaks and facilities not trained in senior care best practices contributed to her hardship.

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Falls are common among older people and often herald deteriorating health. It is the cause of 85 per cent of all injury-related hospitalizations among seniors in Canada, according to Health Canada. And rates have been increasing.

For older people, entering the hospital can be extremely dangerous.

For every day an older person spends in bed, it takes two days to regain lost strength and function. It also takes just eight hours lying on a stretcher for a frail elderly patient’s skin to begin to deteriorate, which could lead to debilitating pressure ulcers or bed sores. Typical waits in many Ontario emergency departments are closer to 20 hours, but can sometimes be higher.

It does not have to be this way. How can we improve health care for older adults?

Join us for a live chat: Friday, February 29, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Three experts will be live in the comments section, answering your questions and comments.

• Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Citizen Health Reporter
• Dr. Samir Sinha, director of health policy research at Canada’s National Institute on Aging, director of geriatrics at Sinai Health System and Toronto University Health Network, and leading expert on health and aging
• Dr. Paul Hebertappalliative care physician at Bruyère Continuing Care, professor of medicine and researcher at the University of Ottawa, and Scientific Director of the Ontario Public Health Emergency Scientific Advisory Committee

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How to take part:

We want to hear from you. What are your experiences with palliative care in your own family? Do you have questions about how to navigate the system? Do you have ideas for solutions?

Go to the comments section of this story post: ottawacitizen.com/the-fall-live-chat – and share your experiences or questions now.

Then join us at the same location on Friday at noon. Elizabeth, Samir and Paul will be live in the comments section answering your comments and questions.

Hear more about this story:

In response to overwhelming reader feedback on this story, Elizabeth Payne has appeared on several radio shows and podcasts:

The CBC Stream:
February 28, 2024: How Canada’s healthcare system can better help older patients

The Big Story Podcast:
February 27, 2024: A father’s fall takes us inside a broken health system

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