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Retirement News : Seniors : Auditor to release long-term care report
Auditor to release long-term care report
Date Added: 10-05-2005
CALGARY – A report on the state of care at the province's long-term care facilities will be released by the auditor general Monday, and those in the industry are hoping it sets out new standards.
Fred Dunn was asked to look at the care of seniors in Alberta, and has specifically looked at nursing homes. Some are speculating that his report addresses staffing levels and inspections.
"We're hoping there's acknowledgement of just how unsafe or unrespectful the present staffing levels are," Dan MacLennan, president of the Alberta Government Employees' Union, said.
Not enough staff for patients was the main complaint of 86-year-old Marie Geddes, who went on a hunger strike for four days last month to protest the level of care she and her care home neighbours receive.
Alberta Health says right now each patient should receive three hours of care a day, and it wants to boost that to 3.4 hours a day over the next three years.
MacLennan says the basic minimum standard for patient care now is just less than two hours per patient a day.
Bev McKay, a seniors advocate, says although the province provided an additional $10 million for long-term care facilities in the last budget, it fell short of the $86 million the Alberta Long-Term Care Association had asked for. And she says the funding isn't reaching the patients.
Staffing levels are "not only unacceptable, they are dangerously low," McKay, with Families Allied to Influence Responsible Eldercare, said. "I just got a call from a family yesterday that just got notice that possibly they were going to see cuts to the staffing levels.
"It just doesn't make much sense, does it?"
According to Alberta Health, for the 14,000 residents in care facilities, there are 3,400 professionals and 9,500 aides working. Ratios vary from region to region.
Health Minister Iris Evans has already said she supports a beefed up inspection process for long-term care facilities. She has seen an early draft of Dunn's report and says if there is a call for improved standards, she will make that happen.
For More Information:
http://calgary.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=ca-long-term-care20050509
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