8/27/2014
The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) has joined with the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) to urge provincial and territorial premiers to take the lead in establishing a seniors care strategy.
The CMA and CARP recently wrote to the Council of the Federation to recommend that the future mandate of the Council’s seniors care working group include development of such a strategy, to address the needs and expectations of an aging population.
“Canadians of all ages should have equitable and timely access to high quality health care regardless of their income or where they live in the country,” said CMA President-elect Dr. Chris Simpson and Susan Eng, CARP vice-president for advocacy, in the joint letter sent to the premiers of Alberta, Yukon and Ontario.
“Health care, financial security, individual rights to equitable treatment and care, as well as freedom from abuse, are all part of the complex equation in ensuring that our quality of life is enhanced, not diminished, as we all age. “
The CMA and CARP are working to make seniors care a major issue in upcoming elections — especially next year’s federal election.
The letter closed by offering to meet the premiers in conjunction with the annual summer meeting of the Council, being held Aug. 26-30 in Charlottetown.
The initiative is the latest involving the CMA in a series to raise awareness about the importance of seniors care. In April, the CMA’s annual Doctors in the House lobby day on Parliament Hill also focused on the health concerns surrounding a rapidly aging population.
At the CMA’s annual general council meeting beginning this weekend, a special education session will focus on readiness for next year’s federal election and how to ensure seniors care is on the agenda.
“We have never been better prepared,” Simpson said in reference to CMA advocacy efforts at the federal level.
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