A long-term care facility in Halifax will be undergoing renovations over the next four to six weeks that when completed will double their number of nursing home beds.
Melville Gardens currently has 61 residential care facility beds, and 30 nursing home beds. The facility is meant for those who require some support, but are capable of completing most daily tasks on their own.
A capital investment by the operator of between $300,000 -$400,000 will see those numbers flipped as half of the RCF beds are turned into nursing home beds.
The increased need for that type of bed is said to be in relation to seniors staying in their homes longer, minimizing the need for the transitional ones.
“Over time you don’t get as many flow through because they’re not meeting the requirements of a RCF bed so you ended up with vacancies,” explained GEM Healthcare Group Chief Operating Officer James Balcom.
Once they identified the trend, officials at GEM sent a proposal to the province which was accepted.
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Nova Scotia will now contribute $1.3 million annually to staffing and other costs associated with the improved care.
So far, the provincial Liberal government has been slow to make advances in the long-term care file with no new beds created since taking office.
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Announcements like the Cape Breton Health Centre Redevelopment Project show progress is being made. although undertakings such as that require a substantial amount of time to complete.
While it’s not solving the nursing home bed shortage, Health Minister Randy Delorey said this transition is one that will make an impact in the immediate future.
“This is an opportunity to get beds on stream in the fastest and most economical way,” Delorey said.
“All of this reflects a lack of a sense of priority and urgency, that is to say a sense of complacency on the part of the government,” said Burrill.
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Nova Scotia NDP Leader Gary Burrill has called on the province to address what he calls the “crisis in long-term care” for some time.
He says the new announcement is commendable but that it’s far from solving the issue.
“We have a fifth of the hospital beds in the province full of people who are really belonging in a nursing home situation,” he explained. “We’ve got 30 new beds, well that’s potatoes alright and we’re glad to see the potatoes but it’s very, very small potatoes relative to the problem.”
In a statement, the Department of Wellness said the current wait list for placement in long-term care was 917 as of Wednesday. According to the department, that includes 224 in hospital, adding there are 457 applications pending, for a total potential wait list of 1374.
The new beds are expected to be ready for residents in early 2020.
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