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Seniors editorial asks the wrong question

Re: “Seniors in private care homes more likely to die in hospital, report finds,” Aug. 2.

Re: “Seniors in private care homes more likely to die in hospital, report finds,” Aug. 2.

Because a research article has claimed more people from private care facilities go to an emergency department and subsequently get admitted and die in hospital compared to a public facility, the editorial asks: “If seniors are going to hospital more often than necessary [from private facilities].”

A case can be made that the visit was appropriate, since many were admitted and subsequently died. The question should be: “Are there seniors in the public facility who should have been transferred for more intensive investigation and care who were not and subsequently died in the nursing home?”

Al Wilke, MD

Salt Spring Island