Funding has been announced to address the needs of long-term care facilities in the province.
Health Minister Dustin Duncan announced Friday the allocation of the Urgent Issues Action Fund, to address priority issues identified by health regions stemming from CEO tours of long-term care facilities earlier this year.
There had been an initial commitment of $10 million in October, but that has been bolstered, according to the health ministry. Regions received $10.04 million to address urgent issues and $3.8 million to address ongoing pressures.
Prairie North Health Region is among the health regions receiving funding. The funded priority areas for Prairie North are the following:
· Training staff in the Gentle Persuasion Approach, helping staff better understand how to care for residents with dementia;
· Improving facilities and purchasing equipment for dietary services, lifting and moving residents comfortably, for preventing residents from wandering outside the facility, as well as oxygen support to better meet residents' and staff's needs;
· Providing Internet access;
· Enhancing recreational activities;
· Increasing staff by 4.0 FTEs to support improved recreational programs regionally.
Other regions are seeing similar areas addressed, including purchasing priority equipment including lifts, tubs, electric beds and pressure supports to improve care for residents, while allowing staff more time to spend on direct client care; as well as implementing such things as electronic charting and point-of-care technologies that allow staff to spend more time with the residents.
The province also says there are plans in the coming week for more than 100 health system leaders, long-term care providers, families and other stakeholders from across Saskatchewan to take part in an engagement session that will focus on quality and appropriate models of care in long-term settings. It will also focus on the broader continuum of care as well.
The issue of senior care had been a hot topic in the Legislature during the fall session. The opposition NDP questioned the government several times on the issue, with leader Cam Broten expressing his concerns about the quality of care as well as funding levels during a tour of the province on the issue.
The provincial government initially committed $10 million after the release of a report in early October on conditions in long-term care facilities in the province. That report followed up on facility-by-facility tours in health regions in the province.
While a number of positives were cited in that report such as the efforts of staff members and volunteers at the facilities, priority issues identified included food, care issues, safety, the resident mix (placing young with older, frail residents) and aging infrastructure.
In a statement, Duncan reiterated the government's commitment to "making improvements that place the needs of our long-term care residents first.
"Today we are providing funding to the health regions to address issues that improve quality of care for seniors. This is an important step in the transformation of our long-term care system."
