The Helene Tremblay Lavoie Foundation is tasked with increasing access to dementia and long-term care for Ontario seniors who's first language is French. It notes that in Toronto, there's only one LTC bed for every 3,400 francophone residents in the metropolitan area, adding that French-speaking seniors typically wait up to five years for a placement in a facility. A consultant from Nova Scotia points out that language barriers can limit access to health promotion and prevention efforts, curtail chronic disease management and negatively affect mental health diagnoses. She highlights hidden costs to the healthcare system when language services aren't provided. For example, she explains providers act more cautiously when they can’t communicate with patients, which may result in more tests and increased lengths of stay in hospitals. When patients don’t get an accurate diagnoses because they aren't understood, they tend to have repeat appointments for the same issue, and there are more likely to be complications. She adds that if patients don’t give informed consent because they don’t fully understand what they’re signing, organizations may also be at greater risk of legal problems.
NBHC Care Experience