Issues surrounding long-term care came up in the Saskatchewan legislature on Tuesday (Nov. 6).
“There are not enough care aides to take care of the people that require the help, and I find that very sad and upsetting,” said Brenda Cromwell, whose father suffers from dementia.
Cromwell said her 92-year-old father was diagnosed with dementia nearly four years ago and when it came time to get him into a long-term care facility, it took almost eight months of waiting.
The NDP said that’s way too long of a process.
The province argues that the process isn’t usually that long and in most cases, the wait time to get into a facility is 24 days.
Saskatchewan’s health minister, Jim Reiter, said staffing at care facilities has increased and funding is up 40 per cent.
“We can always do better, we will look into this case and we will continue to try and improve. We have a number of aging facilities across the province that obviously are going to need some, at least some work done and in some cases being replaced,” Reiter said.
Reiter added either he or Rural and Remote Health Minister Greg Ottenbreit will visit the care facility where Cromwell’s father lives.