The CFPC and CSLTCM call for improvements to long-term care in Canada

MISSISSAUGA, ON, April 26, 2021 /CNW/ - The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC), in partnership with the Canadian Society for Long-Term Care Medicine (CSLTCM), is pleased to release the Joint Position Statement on the Role of Family Physicians in Long-term Care Homes.¹

Family physicians provide comprehensive care in long-term care (LTC) homes as one of the core settings described in the Family Medicine Professional Profile.² Long-term care fits within the Patient's Medical Home (PMH) vision³ for the future of family practice, which emphasizes patient-centredness, community adaptiveness, and interprofessional collaboration both within family practices and the larger Patient's Medical Neighbourhood?a network of other care providers and services involved in patient care.

While the federal government's recent budget has stipulated $3 billion to support LTC over the next five years, more needs to be done to ensure high-quality care in LTC homes, which is why the CFPC and the CSLTCM are working together to advocate for system-wide improvements to ensure comprehensive national standards are implemented. The position statement calls for four essential actions to support better quality of care and improve the LTC system in Canada:

• Implement national standards for patient care in LTC homes
• Enhance funding for staffing
• Support family physician leadership in the medical director role
• Integrate effective and cohesive communications to support continuity of care that is patient-centred

"We want to recognize family physicians for their ongoing important work in LTC as they continue to navigate the turbulent waters brought to the surface by the COVID-19 pandemic," says the CFPC's Executive Director and CEO, Francine Lemire, MD CM, CCFP, FCFP, CAE, ICD.D. "Our position paper highlights several key changes that would help stabilize LTC and better position family doctors to help facilitate clinical policies and procedures within LTC settings to improve patient-centred care."

As family physicians continue their tremendous effort to provide quality, patient-centred care to residents in LTC homes, urgent changes have been identified that are needed to improve the system. "The COVID-19 pandemic has catapulted the LTC sector out of the shadows into the harsh light of day. It has been a devastating year. While we acknowledge the great and often heroic work undertaken in our homes day to day, family physicians have long advocated the need for major system change," says the CSLTCM's President, Patrick Quail, MB, CCFP, FCFP. "The CSLTCM exists to build physician leadership capacity in LTC both as formal medical directors and at the bedside as attending physician staff. This paper advances this advocacy effort by identifying four key opportunities for meaningful improvements in resident care."

About the College of Family Physicians of Canada

The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) is the professional organization that represents more than 40,000 members across the country. The College establishes the standards for and accredits postgraduate family medicine training in Canada's 17 medical schools. It reviews and certifies continuing professional development programs and materials that enable family physicians to meet certification and licensing requirements. The CFPC provides high-quality services, supports family medicine teaching and research, and advocates on behalf of the specialty of family medicine, family physicians, and the patients they serve.

About the Canadian Society for Long-Term Care Medicine

The Canadian Society for Long-Term Care Medicine (CSLTCM) is a community of health care professionals, mostly family physicians with a common interest in the quality of care of residents living and dying in Canadian nursing homes. The CSLTCM was incorporated in 2003 and supports the role of the family physician in person-centred collaborative care and improvements to the quality of life of LTC residents.

SOURCE College of Family Physicians of Canada