Above watch: The deputy minister for Nova Scotia’s Health and Wellness Department says the continuing care system is “unsustainable” and “unfair.” But as Global’s Marieke Walsh reports the opposition parties don’t like the fix.
HALIFAX – The province’s long-term care system is unsustainable in its current form as the province’s population continues to get older, said Nova Scotia’s deputy health minister.
Peter Vaughan told a legislative committee Wednesday that the provincial government currently spends over $800 million on continuing care services, about 20 per cent of the overall health budget.
Vaughan says if costs continue to rise, long-term help for seniors could become even harder to access.
He says currently 2,126 people are waiting for a long-term care bed including 1,940 waiting at home and 186 in hospital.
Vaughn says the average wait for a long-term care bed is nine months with actual waits of anywhere from 30 days to one year.
He says there is a need to expand care at home in order to reduce reliance on long-term care in a province that has the highest number of long-term care beds per capita.
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