Long Term Care Commentary — Alberta
Not very many people are happy with Alberta Health Minister Ron Liepert and Premier Ed Stelmach. Together, the two have concocted a plan to cut more than 200 acute mental care beds in hospitals and other institutions. Some of these beds are currently home to mental health patients, while others provide long term care to seniors with dementia, such as those living with Alzheimer’s disease.
What is the government’s reasoning? They say that they want to change the way long term care is provided in Alberta. They want seniors and others living in long term care institutions to go to a more “home-like” environment where they hope care will be better than in overcrowded nursing homes and hospitals.
Previously, Alberta ministers stated they would take up to three years to close the beds. Now they are talking about closing these beds as quickly as six months from now. By December 2009, as many as 160 beds will be cut.
Is Alberta’s policy towards these long term care beds actually about compassion, or is it about economics? Mark Wells, a spokesperson for Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, told the Edmonton Sun that “every psychiatrist who has spoken out about this has said it is going to damage our mental health care programs in Alberta.” When CBC News polled 804 people from across Alberta, most (70%) said they weren’t confident that the government cuts could retain quality in the health care system for those who need long term care.
In response to the public outcry, Alberta Health Services executive Mark Snaterse continues to implore people to stop fear-mongering and listen to what the government actually has planned. He has repeated many times that “not one bed will be moved until an appropriate environment is found for [the patients].” However, Snaterse also acknowledges that the “community environments” the government is advocating do not yet exist. And will they actually exist by December 2009? The government has two months to prove its case.
Tags: aging trends, Elder Care, elder care Calgary, long term care, long term care Alberta, long term care Calgary, planning for long term care
