The Struggle for Long-Term Care in British Columbia
Barbara Donaldson, an 84-year-old woman from Victoria, has spent months waiting for a spot in a long-term care home. This includes six weeks in a hospital bed, as her condition worsened and she required more specialized care than her current living situation could provide. Her family now faces the daunting reality that she may have to wait up to two more years before she can move into a permanent facility.
Her daughter, Laura Kyle, has been advocating tirelessly for her mother’s needs. She described the frustration of seeing her mother’s health decline while the system fails to respond. “I’ve raised my fist and shouted from the hilltop within the system to try to raise awareness and get something different for my mom,” Kyle said. “It has just been met with roadblocks.”
This situation is not unique. According to the latest report by the B.C. seniors advocate, Dan Levitt, the number of people on the long-term care waiting list has surged from 2,381 in 2016 to 7,212 in 2025—a 200% increase. The average waiting time has also doubled, from 146 days to 290 days. This has led to a significant strain on hospital resources, with many beds occupied by seniors who are unable to return home and require more permanent care.
Jennifer Baumbusch, a professor at the UBC School of Nursing, has been a nurse for over 30 years. She emphasized that concerns about the lack of long-term care spaces and the aging population have been known for decades. “If we had built places 20 years ago, we’d be in good shape, but that wasn’t done,” she said. “All of the money tends to get sucked up by the hospitals. The other piece that really needed to be done were huge investments in community-based care, and that also didn’t happen.”
Donaldson suffers from advanced Parkinson’s disease, which requires specialized care that only long-term care facilities can provide. However, she has been moved between different facilities, including an assisted living home, acute care at Victoria General Hospital, and now a transitional facility. Each step of the way, the options have become more limited and expensive.
Kyle began advocating for her mother last summer when her condition started to deteriorate. She was informed that Amica Senior Lifestyles, the provider of her mother’s current living arrangement, does have long-term care facilities, but they come with a steep price tag—$18,000 per month. In November, she was told that if her mother ran out of money, she could be placed on a priority placement list based on financial need, allowing her to access publicly subsidized care within a few months.
However, this plan fell apart when a medical emergency sent Donaldson back to the hospital in February. Kyle decided to place her mother in Amica’s long-term care facility with the hope of getting her on the priority list. But Island Health later changed its policy and no longer allows applications for priority placement based on financial need.
Faced with this new obstacle, Kyle was told that Island Health could provide a 24/7 care aide for her mother, but only if a separate sleeping space was available. She sold furniture to make room, only to be informed a week later that the care aide would be reduced to three eight-hour shifts. A week after that, it was downgraded further to two shifts with overnight mobile support. Eventually, the health authority said it could no longer provide any home care.
During this time, Donaldson remained in the hospital for an extra month, leading to increased confusion and hallucinations. She was eventually placed in the transitional wing of the Gorge Road Health Centre, but Kyle feels it still resembles a hospital setting. Her mother receives only one day of programming per week, and her mental state continues to decline.
Kyle wonders how many others are facing similar challenges, waiting for over two years for long-term care. She also worries about what will happen when her other parents begin needing additional support. “What’s their state going to be within this broken system?” she asked.
The situation highlights a growing crisis in long-term care across British Columbia. With an aging population and insufficient infrastructure, the pressure on both hospitals and families is mounting. Experts warn that without significant investment in community-based care and long-term facilities, the problem will only continue to worsen.