The Prentice government's latest plan to address a shortage of continuing care beds in the province doesn't go far enough, says Innisfail-Sylvan Lake Wildrose MLA Kerry Towle.
Her party's seniors critic, Towle says government plans to open 464 continuing care spaces over the next year, including 28 in Central Alberta, will not adequately address current needs.
“The announcement is not enough beds at all,” Towle told the Gazette. “You have to remember that this government promised 1,000 new continuing care beds for the last five years, so that's 5,000 beds. In total they have created less then 2,000. They haven't solved the problem.
“This announcement is just more of the same, more broken promises on continuing care spaces and a complete failure to provide more specialized care through long-term care. It will mean more of the same, where clients will be pushed into lower levels of care and will eventually be placed back into hospital care spaces throughout our emergency rooms.”
Under the first phase of the 2014 Continuing Care Capacity Plan announced on Oct. 14, Alberta Health says it will open the beds that are currently unfunded or unstaffed through the reallocation of existing resources.
Phase 2 would see other patients waiting in acute care assisted through $60 million in the Affordable Support Living Initiative.
“We're taking concrete steps to relieve pressure on Alberta's hospitals by considering the flow of the overall system and effecting changes to help those who most need continuing care options, both seniors and those who need more complex care,” Premier Jim Prentice said in a news release.
“We will be better able to open up needed beds in both acute care and the emergency care system.”
Health Minister Stephen Mandel added: “By quickly transferring these seniors out of hospital and making necessary investments in home care and continuing care, we can provide a better quality of life for our seniors and ease pressure on provincial hospitals.”
Sandra Azocar, executive director of Friends of Medicare, said last week's announcement only “confirms the current government's gross mismanagement of our health-care system.
“It is clear that Premier Prentice and Minister Mandel are simply reversing a series of bad decisions made by their own party. It feels like déjà vu from Premier Redford's 2012 promise to build more continuing care beds.
“What we specifically need are long-term care beds to deal with the acuity and complexity of care required by those waiting in hospitals for long-term care placement.”
The College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CARNA) also issued a release following last week's announcement, saying new beds will need to be accompanied by more staffing.
“We welcome the announcement that Alberta Health Services will be opening 464 continuing care spaces over the next year but having a space is just one part of the equation,” said CARNA president Shannon Spenceley.
“As recommended in the recent Auditor General's report, it is essential to provide older adults living in long-term care facilities with an adequate number and level of staff every day of the week. Opening new continuing care spaces must be accompanied with sufficient staffing to meet the needs of the residents occupying them.”
In response to Spenceley's comments, MLA Towle says the government needs to reallocate existing resources.
“You need to take down the resources from the highest levels of Alberta Health Services, so all those vice-presidents, all those senior bureaucrats that are getting paid a whack load of money and redirect those resources back into our front-line services,” said Towle.
