‘Help Wanted’: NDP says staffing has been a problem for years with no fix coming from government

The Saskatchewan NDP’s critic for seniors said it’s frustrating and heartbreaking to hear horror stories from people about their family members in long-term care year after year and not see the problems fixed.

“I’ve been in this role, I think, seven years now and over that time I’ve heard story after story about people impacted by short-staffing and what that looks like,” said Danielle Chartier.

“That means people press a call button and don’t have anybody to respond to the call button for well over an hour. It means people don’t get to the washroom in time, or they end up sitting on a toilet — they’re put on the toilet and the care worker has to attend to someone else. Or people sit at the table and can’t feed themselves and there’s just not enough staff to make sure that people are eating and drinking.”

READ MORE: Family says short-staffing in long-term care leaves residents waiting

She repeatedly called the things that some people have had to endure in long-term care “horrific.”

Chartier said she knows the government knows this is an issue.

“The government has its own reports: It has the CEO tour. We have independent officers like the ombudsman and the auditor flagging concerns,” said Chartier.

The CEO tours of long-term care homes were started in 2013. The reports from 2019 were recently released and many of them mentioned staffing issues as a concern from management, residents and their families.

READ MORE: Care worker says rising levels of care putting strain on workers

Chartier also pointed to the Sask. Party’s own platform for the 2016 election where it recognized staffing was an issue, promising to reduce administrative positions in health and use the $7.5 million in savings to hire RNs, LPNs, and continuing care aides for long-term care. However, that infusion of cash never came.

“The Sask. Party government has not prioritized our seniors and those who live in long-term care to make sure they have the dignity and the care that they need,” said Chartier.

How does Chartier think the problems should be fixed? She said the first step is admitting there’s a problem. She said Health Minister Jim Reiter and Premier Scott Moe have batted away NDP concerns about it, with Reiter seeming to say “There’s nothing to see here.”

The NDP has spoken in recent weeks about wanting minimum care standards for long-term care. Chartier said what the province is using right now doesn’t cut it, it needs some teeth and it needs requirements for staff hours per residents. Previous ones were cut in 2011.

“But you can’t just legislate that. You have to make sure that you’re providing the resources to the facilities that provide the care so that they can staff them appropriately,” explained Chartier.

READ MORE: Advocate points to pandemic putting care problems in spotlight

She also feels there should be an independent investigation into the situation in care homes. She said it could be useful, mentioning the investigations that went on in Ontario and Quebec which she said showed things that aren’t too dissimilar from what’s happening in homes in Saskatchewan.

“We believe that having an independent look will not only be the impetus to provide the resources that these facilities need to provide the care, but with a light shining on long-term care in Canada, now is the time to make sure we put those investments in place so we don’t ever have what happened in Ontario and Quebec,” Chartier said.

Tomorrow, in the final instalment of the series “Help Wanted: Seniors’ care in Saskatchewan,” the health minister defends his government’s funding and treatment of care homes.