Reports of hospitals being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients don’t tell the whole story of the healthcare crisis in Alberta, and Canada as a whole, stats show..Although an AHS spokesman told the Western Standard it is, “doing all it can to help continuing care operators overcome challenges caused by the pandemic,” the issue of health care for Alberta’s seniors has been a serious concern for more than a decade and-a-half, not just now with the pandemic..According to a Parkland Institute report in 2016, nearly half of all the continuing care beds available to elderly Albertans did not meet minimum staffing requirements for the level of care needed..Parkland Institute is an Alberta-wide, non-partisan research centre focusing on the political and economic culture of Alberta and Canada. .“Of the 24,947 continuing care beds that existed in 2016, 5,258 (21%) were operated by AHS or a regional health authority, 10,808 (43%) were run by for-profit corporations, and 8,881 (36%) were run by non-profits,” said the report..“Since 2010, the number of continuing care beds in government-run facilities has decreased, while the number of privately owned beds, and to a lesser degree non-profit-owned beds, has increased significantly..“In the last seven years, Alberta lost 333 beds in public facilities while private, for-profit facilities have added 3,255 beds.”.The report also indicated since 2013, the former Progressive Conservative government or the current NDP government at the time had done nothing to address the shortage of long-term beds..“The current government has fallen far short of its election commitment to open 2,000 public long-term beds by the end of 2019, including 500 new beds in 2015,” said the report..The report highlighted three areas of concern including the availability rate of long-term care beds, under-staffing issues and government support funding for-profit long-term care facilities “despite the fact they provide an inferior level of care compared to publicly run facilities.”.Parkland Institute report warned the problem would “become even more acute in the future, as the senior population in Alberta is growing.”.When reached for comment on the current long-term care situation in Alberta, AHS indicated “patients waiting in hospital for placement in continuing care is trending down, and remains near all-time lows.”.“In addition, the average number of placements taking place per week is higher now than it has been in the last three months,” said the AHS spokesman. .“Everything is being done to expedite these placements wherever possible.”.According to AHS numbers:.In the last three months, there was an average of 386 clients waiting in hospital for placement within continuing care, down from 422 in 2020/21 and 410 in 2019/20. .In the last three months, an average of 169 people are being moved in to continuing care each week, up from 145 each week in 2020/21, and 165 each week in 2019/20..AHS acknowledged getting “these residents out of hospitals and into a more appropriate care settings frees up hospital beds.”.“AHS is monitoring staffing challenges due to COVID-19 at continuing care sites throughout the province. Continuing Care facilities are doing everything they can to bring in enough staff, and they’re doing it in different ways, with different mechanisms,” said AHS..“This varies from day to day throughout the province.”.AHS did not provide any further information on the “ways and mechanisms” being utilized to address the staffing shortages..The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) also addressed the healthcare crisis with a November article posted on their website..Author Cheryl Oates from CUPEs communications department takes direct aim at Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and his party’s struggle “to get a hold on the growing capacity crisis within the Alberta healthcare system.”.The Western Standard attempted to reach CUPE Alberta’s spokesman Lou Arab for comment, but has not heard back..The continuing care crisis is not limited to Calgary. The Toronto Sun recently interviewed hospital staff and senior healthcare officials in Ontario who were granted anonymity..The article revealed although Ontarians have been told hospitals have been overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases, it’s more so an issue of ICU and care beds being occupied by patients no longer needing hospital care, but long-term care facilities are unable to accept them due to staffing shortages..Patients who don’t require hospital care, but are awaiting placement elsewhere, are called Alternative Level of Care (ALC) patients..One ICU staffer told the Toronto Sun ALC patients are causing a “logjam” in hospitals while everyone interviewed said the key problem was “staffing.”.“It’s not a COVID issue and I don’t think people see that,” said one doctor..Another doctor said the firing of unvaccinated nurses has undeniably worsened the staffing problem..According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), as of June 2021, the average long-term (LTC) beds per 1,000 population of seniors aged 65+ in Canada sat at 29. The data was only collected for LTC homes that offer 24-hour nursing care and have publicly funded and/or subsidized beds..A CIHI snapshot as of March 31, 2021 indicated Nunavut had the lowest rate at 18 beds per 1,000 population, followed by Quebec at 24 beds per 1,000 population, Alberta at 26 beds per 1,000 and B.C. at 28 beds per 1,000..Saskatchewan has nearly double Quebec’s rate at 47 beds per 1,000. Manitoba sits at 44 beds per 1,000 and the Yukon has the highest rate nationwide at 56 beds per 1,000 population..Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
