Sherazi: Can we close health-care gaps for vulnerable seniors?

She stared at the sheets of paper, studying them carefully, but it was hard to know how much she absorbed. After a few moments, she set them aside and turned on her favourite TV show, the instructions for mouth care following tooth extractions forgotten. Even if she had wanted to follow them, reading small print had become difficult, and her hearing loss made asking for help even harder.

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This year, I have been privileged to stay with my grandmother in the United Kingdom for a few months. She was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in the summer; I realized time is precious and took the opportunity to care for her daily. I ensure she takes her medication, eats properly, and I provide company when I’m not studying for the Canadian Dental Aptitude Test. Staying with her has given me unique insights into her reality and the assumptions made about elderly-patient care.

Before I arrived, my fiercely independent grandmother lived alone, despite my uncle’s offer for her to live with him. He helps as much as he can — taking her to appointments, getting groceries — but as a parent with his own household and job, he faces hectic days.

Communication is another challenge: conversations with health-care providers are difficult for her, not only due to memory issues but also because her hearing loss makes following discussions hard, especially in busy environments.

My uncle follows up with health-care professionals about her well-being. To outsiders, it may seem she has plenty of support, but looks can be deceiving. Health-care providers assume family will assist with aftercare, but this can be challenging, especially when the elderly live alone. Even when instructions are given clearly, if she can’t hear properly or struggles to process information, key details are lost.

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In the summer, Grandma had cataracts removed. She was supposed to apply three types of eye drops six times a day. If my mother hadn’t been visiting, she might have felt forced into staying with my uncle. After her recent tooth extraction, she was sent home with aftercare instructions. If I hadn’t been there to ensure she didn’t rinse her mouth or monitor for bleeding, who knows what could have happened? Her hearing loss adds to the difficulty; if she doesn’t catch something the first time, she may not realize she’s misunderstood or missed important instructions. Health-care providers often assume she has absorbed everything when, in reality, she may have picked up only fragments.

Observing my grandmother’s life has highlighted for me the gaps in elderly aftercare. Elderly patients shouldn’t be handed complex instructions; families caring for them should be fully informed about practical assistance. For instance, patients with dementia need more follow-up from dentists when big changes, like new dentures, occur. Such treatments can be stressful, and without encouragement and a bond with the health-care provider, outcomes may be unsuccessful. Gentle, frequent encouragement to use new dentures, for instance, helps patients persist. For those like my grandmother, in-person follow-ups or large, bold, simple written instructions could make a significant difference.

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According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, Canada’s senior population is expected to grow by 68 per cent over the next 20 years. For aspiring health-care professionals like myself, the needs of the elderly are a focus — not only because many future patients will be over 65, but because I’ve seen the gaps in care firsthand. While family encouragement helps, gentle and frequent check-ins from health-care professionals would yield better long-term outcomes for seniors.

In Ontario, voters have given the Doug Ford government another victory. Time will tell if health — especially senior health policy — improves.

Ottawa resident Aadam Sherazi is a graduate of Queen’s University who hopes to pursue a career in dentistry.

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