The province is being blasted for ignoring most of last year’s recommendations in a report on seniors’ care in BC.

Marcy Cohen of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says the government failed to act on 140 of the 176 recommendations made by ombudswoman Kim Carter in her February 2012 report. The group is demanding more leadership from the province.

“On some of those key issues: home support, standards of care, information to the public,” says Cohen.

She wants a plan in place, including a timeline.

“At the minimum what government needs to do is do an analysis to see if in fact their goal of supporting people to stay at home as long as possible can be met with existing services and that was not dealt with at all by government.”

Several of the recommendations involve the Health Ministry taking a leadership role in providing direction to health authorities and working with them to make sure there are consistent standards for seniors’ care.

The investigation was prompted in 2008 after several public complaints.

Cohen says one positive is the creation of a new seniors’ advocate position. “They promised it and say they’re doing it but it’s not yet in place, so again 20 months after the report, it’s taking too long.”

She says that person will face a system plagued by gaps, which need to be fixed so seniors can stay healthy.