Sask. plans to tackle problems in long-term care facilities

REGINA – The Saskatchewan Health Minister has revealed the feedback he received from each health regions CEO on the condition of long-term care facilities in the province.

Some of the challenges that the CEOs said they were facing in long-term care facilities were food (quality, variety and meal times), care issues (complexity, behavior management, delays in provision of care), safety (residents needs, staff training), resident mix (placing younger with older, frail residents) and aging infrastructure.

“We are taking the concerns expressed very seriously, and challenging the health system to do better,” Dustin Duncan said. “It is clear to me that we need a path forward that ensures we are using our resources more effectively to improve quality of care for our seniors.”

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To try and combat these issues, the province will spend $10 million to address priority issues including purchasing equipment, providing more baths, improving nutrition, improving responsiveness to call bells and providing training to deal with residents who have dementia.

“We are committed to making improvements that address these issues and improve quality of care and quality of life for seniors,” Duncan said. “That is why our response today includes designating $10 million to address urgent issues identified by these reports, but also why I view this as only an initial step in transforming our long-term care system.”

To gather better feedback about challenges in the system, transparency of how money is being spent and accountability for senior leadership, the province has pledged the following:

• Establishing Resident and Family Councils at all long-term care facilities (94 per cent complete).
• Creating a quality of care survey for Resident and Family Council members to be provided directly to the Minister annually.
• Annual CEO visits to their respective long-term care facilities to provide updates to the Minister on improvements.
• Requiring 60 day, 90 day and 120 day reports directly to Minister on the outcomes achieved in facilities that receive money through the Urgent Issue Action Fund.

Duncan also plans to hold a stakeholder engagement session later this fall, drawing together health system leaders, long-term care providers, families and other stakeholders from across Saskatchewan, to focus on quality and appropriate models of care in long-term care settings.