Report recommends $180M a year for continuing care

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/08/2023 (745 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba could fully staff its continuing care system by investing $180.8 million annually and improve the standard of daily care to residents, a report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives recommends.

“This is hugely achievable for Manitoba,” said the report’s author, senior researcher Niall Harney, noting Manitoba has received an increase in federal health transfers.

The suggested budget increase figure is the result of 10 policy recommendations put forward by the centre to bring long-term care and home care back from a “breaking point.”

The recommendations include hiring 800 more health-care aides, increasing and legislating standard daily hours of care for long-term care clients — the centre recommends 4.5 paid daily hours, noting Manitoba has only committed to 3.7 — improving working conditions, providing more tuition support, providing a fleet of vehicles for home-care workers and phasing out for-profit care altogether.

The report, “Revitalizing the Conditions of Care in Manitoba: Supporting Long-Term Care and Home Care Workers in the Recovery from COVID-19,” shows overtime demands are still high, and workers are “fed up,” Harney said.

“What our results really point to is painting a picture of a staff that’s really still struggling with overwork, struggling to cope, and one where burnout and high levels of stress are very common. And where the conditions that were present during the height of the pandemic have not subsided,” Harney said.

NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara said the findings reflect that care workers have been mistreated by the Tories.

“We’ll look at taking the necessary steps to have more health-care workers working in Manitoba, not less… and have Manitobans getting access to the health care that they need when they need it,” Asagwara said.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said the same or similar recommendations have been made dating back decades, some prompted by residents’ deaths and inquest reports.

“These are not new suggestions, they’ve been around for 30 years.”

Lamont said his party would appoint a seniors advocate and expand home-care services and bring nurse practitioners in to personal care homes.

It’s “disgraceful,” the way long-term care residents and seniors have been treated, Lamont said. “To say that we need change is an understatement.”

The Tories countered that under their watch, more than $34 million has been promised for “multiple key initiatives, many of which focus on creating safe, inclusive, accessible communities.” It cited the promise that six new care homes, with 670 beds, would be built. It also cited its $12.6-million hearing aid program that will provide up to $2,000 to eligible seniors.

Its statement also said there will be more announcements during the election campaign.

The report was released Wednesday, followed by a panel discussion that included insight from long-term care and home-care workers, comments from a long-term care resident and research on migrant workers.

The centre commissioned a Probe Research survey of home-care workers and long-term care workers in Manitoba, which found most employees are overworked, understaffed, and dissatisfied with their pay, benefits and casual hours.

More than half said they are likely to leave the profession within five years. Delving into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the continuing care industry, the survey results showed many workers believe the pandemic has negatively affected their physical and mental health.

“When asked what impact the pandemic has had on their mental and physical health at work, 75 per cent of long-term care staff and 77 per cent of home care staff reported a negative effect on their mental health. Further, 67 per cent of staff in long-term care and 65 percent in home care reported negative impacts on their physical health at work resulting from the pandemic,” the report states.

There were 1,027 unionized workers from all health regions who responded to the survey between June and July 2022.

An overwhelming majority of home care and long-term care workers are women (roughly 90 per cent), and this research is part of a national project examining the effects of the pandemic on women. Many of the workers in this sector are newcomers, and the report also recommends that recruitment and retention efforts in Manitoba should expedite the path to permanent residency for immigrants in the home care and long-term care workforce. It recommends creating a independent advocacy centre for workers to combat workplace racism.

The report noted Saskatchewan’s move away from for-profit care homes, and Harney suggested a similar move in Manitoba is achievable.

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com

CCPA Care Home report