There is an increasing complexity in the needs of long-term care residents as people live longer with disease.
The CEO of the Saskatchewan Health authority says we are seeing more dementia and alzheimer’s cases and that means an increasing level of care.
Scott Livingstone was responding to the NDP highlighting some of the findings from a CEO Tour report that indicates some families feel staff are rushed, or there aren’t enough staff.
He says there are a few challenges.
For instance the idea is to have people living close to their hometowns as possible, but then staffing of these long-term care homes may be an issue because you have to have the right people with the right training.
There is also a challenge with staff working at a number of different facilities, which has changed for safety reasons because of COVID-19, and adds to more consistency, so he hopes that will continue after the virus is under control.
Livingstone says the goal is to have people living in their own homes as long as possible, with support come in to the home.
He adds that more home-like facilities are popping up, like the Meadows in Swift Current where each unit has more of a home atmosphere as opposed to the traditional institutions.
As the province’s population ages and the complexity of conditions expand, Livingstone says healthcare is going to have to adapt.