THURSDAYAPRIL 9, 2015
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SENIORS ADVOCATE REPORT
Debating drug use
Courtenay 2937 Kilpatrick Ave 250871-6074 Victoria 3501 Saan Nanaimo 3200 No ich Road 250-382-5269 rth Island Hwy 25 0-756-4114
47% of seniors in residences are on anti-depressants CANDACE WU news@pqbnews.com
Prescription drugs far outnumber a diagnosis to match the medication in B.C. residential care homes, according to a report released Tuesday. Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie’s report, Placement, Drugs and Therapy…We Can Do Better found 33 per cent of residential care home clients are prescribed anti-psychotic medication while only four per cent are diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. Moreover, the report says 47 per cent of clients are prescribed anti-depressants while only 24 per cent have a proven need for the drugs. NDP Alberni-Pacific Rim MLA Scott Fraser called the findings “tragic. It’s of great concern for our seniors who have spent their lives building the health care system up,” Fraser told The NEWS from Victoria on Wednesday morning. “And now they aren’t getting the care they need.” Parksville Qualicum Beach is a retirement Mecca with one of the oldest demographics in the country. According to Island Health, the region has six residential care facilities. The report highlights more alarming statistics including that 15 per cent of British Columbian seniors may be “incorrectly housed,” meaning they might be better suited for assisted living or community care options. “This is troubling on a couple of fronts,” said Mackenzie, who has worked in home care for two decades. “Most seniors would prefer to live independently than in residential care and so we want to ensure all supports and alternative living arrangements are exhausted before we move someone to residential care.” See 25,000 SENIORS SURVEYED, page A6
JOHN HARDING PHOTO
Reg Poncsak played some music on a sunny afternoon this week in Parksville Community Park, the closed concession over his right shoulder.
CHANGES IN PARKSVILLE’S COMMUNITY PARK
One vendor, maybe, by May 1 JOHN HARDING editor@pqbnews.com
Trollers Fish and Chips, a popular eatery on the Nanaimo Waterfront, might be a fixture on Parksville Beach soon. City council had a staff recommendation to vote on last night (results not available at press time) that would accept Trollers as one of the two new mobile food vendors in Community
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Park. Staff ’s suggestion was to readvertise for the second vendor, although the door remained open for council to consider other options, including the rejection or acceptance of both proposals received by the city. In November of last year, the previous city council adopted a plan to reconfigure the existing Community Park concession/washroom to a washroom/changeroom-only build-
ing. Council then decided to build pads and supply services for two mobile food vendors to replace the concession and put out a request for proposals (the RFP). Two proposals were received through the RFP, one from Trollers and one from Beaches Bistro. There is a Beaches Bistro in Port Alberni, but it’s unclear if it is connected to the proposal included in the city staff report. See PORTABLE TOILETS, page A9
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