missing showers, eating meals alone and reporting missed medications after the province ended pandemic-era pay supplements to cover overtime and contract workers.
Operators warn that, without intervention, hundreds of beds could close over the next year, leaving seniors stuck in hospitals or unsafe situations at home as wait lists for care homes balloon.
“We’ve been relying on funding which is now being taken away on the expectation that we’re in the same situation we were prepandemic – and we’re not,” said Rob Gillis, the chief executive officer of Haro Park Centre, which provides long-term care, assisted living and independent housing in Vancouver.
The province introduced temporary funding during the pandemic to help publicly subsidized long-term care and assisted living facilities cover overtime and agency staffing. That support ended on Oct. 31.
A separate funding stream to support visits to care homes with COVID-19 testing and enhanced cleaning ended April 30. And another to level wages for workers across public, private and nonprofit sectors is set to expire at year-end. Overtime continues to be funded at government owned and operated facilities.
Heartless corporatist #bcndp government’s war on the most vulnerable people in society seniors in long-term care homes
“COVID-era money for B.C. long-term care aides runs out”
#LTCH residents miss medications, showers, eating meals alone, b/c lack of $ for staff
archive.is/n3kca #bcpoli