It seems that the provincial government, which was elected largely because of promises to fix the health care system, is hoping an investment in the continuing care sector will provide some assistance.
Supporters and members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) came out for a Day of Action across the province on Nov. 30, including St. Peter’s, Arichat, and Inverness.
Local 5032 President Annette Boudreau told The Reporter wages are unfair and there aren’t sufficient incentives to attract more Continuing Care Assistants (CCAs).
In a press release issued before the Day of Action, CUPE said wages have not kept up with inflation, and many workers in these sectors must work two jobs, work at more than one facility, or work overtime, just to get by.
Boudreau noted that the ratio of long term care residents to health care providers should be lower. CUPE is encouraging the public to contact their MLAs to ask them to change the staff-to-resident ratio to a minimum of 4.1 direct care hours per resident.
Local 1782 Shop Steward April Richardson told The Reporter they want legislative changes. She criticized Premier Tim Houston’s health care tour which did not include long-term care.
Because of staff shortages and long hours, Richardson said that no vacation was granted this past summer, some staff are working double shifts, and burn out is a worry.
CUPE said immediate action is needed by the province to increase staffing levels, noting workers face unmanageable workloads and regularly go home feeling “defeated” because they’re unable to deliver the kind of care they want to provide.
Like Boudreau, Richardson said more can be done to direct more people into a long-term care career.
According to CUPE, there are “hundreds” of job vacancies for CCAs and Licensed Practical Nurses in Nova Scotia.
Adele MacRae, a member of Local 3730 who attended the picket at the Inverness legion, along with Local 1485, told The Reporter workers are forced to work 16 hour shifts when there aren’t enough workers.
Most employers “mandate” staff to work overtime and leave the first sick-call unfilled, so staff are working shorthanded, CUPE noted. The union said these practices are unsustainable.
On Dec. 8, the province announced it is investing about $57-million to hire more CCAs, improve working conditions, improve care for seniors, and make empty beds available to seniors.
According to the province, the single biggest investment is $22-million over the next two years to cover 100 per cent of tuition costs for over 2,000 students in CCA programs. They said students will have the option of taking full or part-time studies, or participating in a new work and training program that allows them to earn money while learning. Students in the new program will be in the workforce starting in February, they noted.
The province said other investments over the next two and a half years include: $8-million to provide long-term care homes with funding to offer casual and part-time employees full-time positions or to hire more staff to provide direct care; $3.1-million to hire temporary staff through employment agencies; $3.1-million in tuition rebates for current CCA students; $2.1-million to recruit CCAs nationally and internationally; $1.4-million to improve staff scheduling and delivery of care; $1.3-million to increase professional development opportunities; $1.3-million to attract workers to parts of the province where staffing is the most challenging; $630,000 to double the number of people (to 600) who can apply for positions in continuing care; and $466,000 to provide injured or ill employees access to physiotherapy, occupational therapy, social work services, and psychological services.
The province said investments over the next two and a half years to make more beds available to seniors waiting for long-term care include: $6.1-million to convert and license beds in residential care facilities and assisted living facilities to nursing home level care; $5.9-million to license and fund 30 Veterans Affairs Canada beds for Nova Scotians who need them; and $1.8-million to extend an agreement with Shannex and the Sisters of Charity to keep 23 temporary nursing home beds open for another year.
The province added that they have committed to hiring 1,400 additional CCAs and is working to renovate and build 2,500 new single-bed rooms over the next three years.
The province’s commitments sound promising, and if achieved, will help address problems in long-term care and the health care system in general.
Attracting and retaining more trained CCAs, can address staffing shortages and eventually open up beds, but more Nova Scotians than are currently, will have to enter that career, and not just that, enough of them will have decide to work at the facilities with the greatest shortages.
For this assistance and these incentives to make a tangible impact on the health care system, a lot has to go right.
In contrast, plans to convert and license beds in residential care and assisted living facilities, fund Veterans Affairs Canada beds, and keep temporary nursing home beds open for another year, are modest, but easily achievable goals that offer immediate benefit.
And while those moves will help free-up some spaces, it will be hard to get away from the fact that adding thousands of beds could require large and long-term financial commitments to expand and renovate facilities, and even construction new ones.
Last week’s announcement is a good start in repairing the ailing health care system, but given how deep the problems are and how long it will take to fix them, this is but one step in a long journey.