Much has been said about the healthcare system in the media, coffee emporiums, and across family dinner tables. Many of those messages have been alarmingly less than complimentary and with concern. Such has been the case in recent times despite the valiant efforts of the legions of healthcare workers. They have unquestionably been overwhelmed beyond measure. The onset of Covid struck an alarmingly heavy blow to the healthcare system. Unluckily, that system was already reported to be in jeopardy and staffed by a contingent of worn-out medical professionals. A number of these workers left the system due to exhaustion and the seemingly endless stream of patients, desperately in need of a wide range of medical procedures.
Unfortunately, there is another alarming threat to the system that promises to discombobulate the works big time. That looming threat is called dementia.
There is an all-too-common eventuality that arises with the onset of this dastardly disease. Early candidates and their friends and relatives sometimes make light about the onset of forgetfulness among their aging contingent. However that symptom should be seen as a serious one and checked out by a doctor immediately. Reportedly, dementia can’t be cured but its progress can be slowed.
The medical community reports that the biggest contributor to the onset of dementia is age
A common pattern develops something akin to the following. A person, usually an elder, experiences serous memory lapses more and more frequently and accidentally takes a fall. They frequently attend the emergency room at a nearby hospital that very often has a long list of patients awaiting treatment. After hours of waiting, a doctor diagnoses the elder and prescribes a medication and continued hospital care. They spend the night in a bed in the emergency room and eventually are moved to a hospital room when one becomes available. They become disoriented and can’t go home so they are put on a waiting list for a room in a long term care facility. That wait can be a long one and the patient continues to deteriorate in the hospital and is taking up a scarce hospital bed. That scenario is a familiar one for an increasing number of families with aging relatives who are experiencing the inadequacy of the current healthcare system.
The medical community reports that the biggest contributor to the onset of dementia is age. It is well documented for some time now that our population is rapidly aging. According to the Canadian Institute For Health Information, nearly one in four Canadians age 85 and up has been diagnosed with dementia. Many of these patients and their families are confronted with overcrowded hospitals, a lack of elder care facilities, and a lack of geriatricians. According to Dr. Alexandra Peel, a geriatrician from Goderich, Ont., that scenario, or one close to it, is all too common.
There is no doubting that those who administer the healthcare system are fully aware of this looming crisis even as they battle many aspects of the current state of affairs. Hopefully, there are sufficient skills and resources to effectively resolve the current issues. Additionally they need be sufficiently prepared for the oncoming challenges that the aging population will ultimately be upon the healthcare system.
