B.C. needs to add 16,000 long-term care beds in the next decade, says seniors advocate

A report from British Columbia’s seniors’ advocate says the province will need almost 16,000 new long-term care beds by 2036 to meet the demands of an aging society.

Dan Levitt’s report tabled at the provincial legislature pegs the current shortfall at over 2,000 beds and predicts the gap will “grow exponentially” over the next decade.

It says the number of people waiting for beds has grown significantly in the past 10 years to 7, 212 in 2025, and people are also waiting longer.

The average wait time for a long-term care bed had almost doubled to 290 days by 2024, according to the report, which predicts those delays will become “untenable” based on current government plans.

While the government says it will add almost 3,000 new beds, the report says the current system, which “relies heavily on overburdened family caregivers,” is “unsustainable and requires immediate attention” because of its spillover effects on other parts of the health-care system.

The report says that the current plan is “not up to date and does not sufficiently address the significant shortfall” in long-term care beds.