Beds lost on weekly basis because of mould at Pioneer Village

Beds are being lost on a weekly basis at the Pioneer Village seniors complex in Regina, according to a memo sent from the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to employees.

The memo, brought forward by the NDP, said mould continues to be a concern leading to the closure of 142 beds to date. It goes on to say these changes will require some residents to move internally or to another care home. The reduced number of residents will affect baseline staffing requirements.

During Question Period on Tuesday, NDP Deputy Leader Nicole Sarauer said hundreds of Pioneer Village employees have been told their positions no longer exist, leaving hundreds wondering where they’ll get their next paycheque.

Health Minister Jim Reiter said no staffing cuts have been made at this time. He explained the letter was to notify the union, under the collective bargaining agreement, so that discussions could start on how to handle the issue appropriately.

Reiter admitted at some point, staffing levels will need to reflect fewer beds. He said because of constant turnover, every effort has been made to do that through attrition.

“The hope is that, if not all, almost all the employees will be placed somewhere else and any potential layoffs will be either non-existent or very, very minimal,” said Reiter.

Sarauer responded, saying a high turnover is another problem that needs to be addressed.

“We should be concerned about a lot of turnover, period. Why is there so much turnover within this employee group? What’s happening in their world that’s causing this amount of disruption,” said Sarauer.

Sarauer added the mould issue is one the government should have been mitigating for a while now.

“They’ve been avoiding the situation and ignoring it and as a result, we’re now seeing seniors being forced to move from their homes,” said Sarauer.

Reiter said it’s not accurate to say nothing has been done, adding the SHA has been working diligently on this, with mitigation work underway for some time.

“It’s a large building, there’s a lot of people in it. They discovered some mould, they did work on it then they discovered more. Hindsight is easy to criticize but officials are doing the best they can in the situation,” said Reiter.

Reiter said the province has issued a request for proposal (RFP) calling for approximately 350 beds. While that’s under review, it will be compared to the cost of replacing the facility.

In the meantime, the province is looking for 100 temporary beds to alleviate the congestion in the system.