Progressive Conservative government reviewing what type of long-term care beds are needed: health minister.
According to data obtained by the Opposition, the Progressive Conservative government of Manitoba is further behind schedule than it was when it originally promised to build 1,200 new beds for personal care homes.
The Conservatives pledged during the 2016 election to build 1,200 new beds over an eight-year period.
The NDP was able to obtain a document through a freedom of information request, which shows that as of this September, the total number of licensed beds had decreased from 9,698 in 2016 to 9,549.
The province has added more than 450 beds since the 2016 pledge, but some of that progress was undone this year with the closure of Parkview Place, the aging downtown facility that was the scene of one of the deadliest COVID-19 outbreaks in the province.
Although the PC’s pledge to create new beds seems further away, Julie Turenne-Maynard, executive director of the Manitoba Association of Residential and Community Care Homes for the Elderly, says that doesn’t mean the pledge is any less significant.
“The promise still matters because the need is there,” Turenne-Maynard said.
“I am aware that there is a significant seniors strategy underway at the moment. They are researching the world’s top communal living techniques, creating housing models, and gathering user feedback.
“However, the truth is that even though we might be altering the model for long-term and continuing care, this still needs to happen because there are consistently more than 200 people waiting to enter personal care homes in Winnipeg alone.”
Turenne-Maynard anticipates that as the population ages, demand will only rise.
Promise Unlikely to Be Kept: NDP
Wab Kinew, the leader of the NDP, charged that in addition to breaking an election pledge, the Tories in power had shifted the electoral odds against them.
“Who can believe the PCs when they try to issue press releases and make announcements about healthcare every day?” During question time at the legislature, the NDP revealed the number of beds in care homes, Kinew told reporters on Friday.
The needs of elderly Manitobans in terms of long-term placement will be taken care of, according to Health Minister Audrey Gordon, who stated this during the question period.
She added that in lieu of conventional care home beds, some health regions have requested other kinds of beds, such as rooms in behavioral units.
“We want to be able to support their needs as it relates to their specific jurisdictions, and we’re going to continue to work with the regional health authorities in the days and months to come,” Gordon said.
But Turenne-Maynard said going forward, “it’s still long-term care” that’s needed.
“In order to handle that, we need additional infrastructure.”
The government announced in a statement that it has allocated $661 million for personal care homes in this year’s budget and that it will also increase staffing at the homes in the province.
The 100-bed Tabor Home in Morden and 157 additional beds at the Holy Family Home in Winnipeg have both been built by the province since 2016. The province also announced the addition of 143 beds at the new Rest Haven Personal Care Home in Steinbach and the expansion of the Boyne Lodge in Carman with 79 additional beds.
Reference: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/personal-care-home-beds-number-1.6656911
