‘Help Wanted’: Advocate points to pandemic putting care problems in spotlight

Problems with conditions and staffing in Saskatchewan’s long-term care homes are not new, as even before the last provincial election, debates can be found in the legislative archive discussing the issues.

But at least one seniors’ advocate in the province believes the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the issues to the forefront.

“It has been all too easy to forget about older people who have reached the stage where they do need care,” said Linda Anderson, communications and ageism awareness staff at the Saskatchewan Seniors’ Mechanism.

Anderson said the pandemic has “brought notice” upon long-term care and the problems that seem to be so common.

“Families are not prepared anymore to see the kind of care, or the absence of staff people when they are most needed — they’re not prepared to accept that anymore,” said Anderson.

READ MORE: Care worker says rising levels of care putting strain on workers

What often happens for residents in long-term care is that family members will come in to help with care — filling water cups, taking residents to the bathroom, helping with feeding and so on.

Anderson said families would be worried about the care their family member was getting and would help “cover up” the staffing issues by providing the care their relative might not get otherwise.

However, when the pandemic hit, the Saskatchewan Health Authority shut down its facilities to visitors except in the case of compassion considerations, like if a resident was nearing the end of their life or needed therapeutic help.

Anderson said that means there was little to no extra help from family, no extra noticing and no extra comforting.

“In the homes, in the facilities, that volunteer effort was then blocked off and the benefits of that were not received in the homes,” said Anderson.

Anderson has personal experience with the long-term care system and her stories are similar to others who’ve highlighted what many would feel is sub-par care. Anderson said her mother was in long-term care and the last six to eight months were very difficult.

“It was difficult, not because staff were mean and didn’t want to help; they were overcommitted and did not have the time. My mother had bowel incontinence problems … There were many times when I went to visit her that I had to take her to the bathroom and do the (cleanup). I just did it because there was nobody around,” explained Anderson.

READ MORE: Family says short-staffing in long-term care leaves residents waiting

Anderson said she knows it can be difficult for home operators to have a consistent, well-trained staff, particularly for personal care. She points to funding as one way to fix the problem, and any extra funding needs to be targeted specifically to funding and training of staff.

Anderson and the Saskatchewan Seniors’ Mechanism think the province should have a comprehensive plan on supporting older adults and seniors, including funding for some forms of non-medical care earlier. Anderson said that will help adults stay healthy longer and could lower the numbers of people who need to use long-term care.

When asked why she thinks the money hasn’t come yet to fix the staffing problem, Anderson said she thinks government has its own priorities.

“I don’t believe that long-term care homes have been high on the priorities, nor do I believe that older people have been high on the priorities,” she said.

In tomorrow’s instalment of “Help Wanted: Seniors’ care in Saskatchewan,” the NDP will detail where it thinks the problems are and how they should be fixed.