First Available Bed

Claiming the "first available bed", is now how the Province of BC manages the intake of patients into publicly funded care institutions.  The system seems to work well, and here is how it worked for us.

Once a case worker assessed my mother as needing placement in a Long Term Care home (see It's all about Definitions for our assessment process), and my mother agreed to move, we were told that she must accept the "first available bed", and move within 48 hours.  Once a bed became available, I would be called to make an appointment to see the facility the next day.  We would make a decision and Mom would move the day after that.   If we decided not to accept the bed in this facility, we would not be considered for placement again for six months.  If we accepted the bed we could request a move to a different facility (of my choice), which we were told could take a couple of years.  I thought I might want to move her closer to me.

At first, this sounded like a harsh system , but I realized that the old system of putting your name on a "waiting list" in preparation for the time when you decided you were ready was too unwieldy for the health care system to manage.  It resulted in beds being left empty when there was a shortage of available beds.

After the assessment, my mother forgot all about her pending move and continued to struggle with the tasks of daily living.  By the time I received the call about an available bed (within two weeks), I was receiving three or four other calls per day from home care workers or neighbours, reporting the latest crisis.  I was a wreck.

I went to see the facility, which turned out to be old and in need of refurbishment, but run by competent and caring staff.  And there seemed to be lots of them, attending to people as they needed help.  I accepted the bed which was in a very small private room with a private bathroom.  I could always move her, right?

As it turns out, I have not moved her.  Of the four homes she was eligible for, (based on her specific condition and needs), the one with the first available bed was the closest to me (only 20 minutes by car).   Moving her again would be hard on her, and I am happy that she is being well cared for.

For more information, I recommend that you read this.