| The Coalition of Seniors Advocates and the United Nurses of Alberta are criticizing the Calgary Health Region (CHR) for contracting with private health care companies to build new long-term care facilities rather than publicly funding the needed nursing homes.
The groups say the arrangement will end up costing the CHR and seniors and their families more in the long run than if the health region had built the long-term care facilities with public money.
The CHR recently announced that Intercare will build two new long-term care facilities and AgeCare will build a third one. Intercare already runs Southwood, Chinook and Brentwood care centres, and AgeCare runs Beverly Centre Glenmore and Beverly Centre Lake Midnapore care centres.
Bev Dick, vice-president of the United Nurses of Alberta union, says more nursing home beds are needed in the province, but P3s (public-private partnerships) are not the way to go.
"If you look at the research anywhere in the world it costs more for P3s," she says. "We would like to see money invested in public long-term care centres."
Dick says private long-term care centre operators have to make money for their shareholders and they often save money by "cutting down on staff." As well, she adds, they can decide to increase the leasing costs for bed spaces that the health region pays whenever they choose.
Dick also questions how many new nursing home beds will be built in the new long-term care facilities. The province has specific staffing requirements for nursing home beds but not for assisted living beds. Dick says assisted living beds "are not required to have any nursing whatsoever." The government regulates nursing home bed accommodation fees, but it doesn’t regulate how much private health care companies charge for assisted living spaces. Dick says often people living in assisted living spaces have to pay for health care services that are covered by the province in nursing home spaces.
"With the assisted living a lot of the services they provide are services you buy," says Dick. "If you need help to go to the bathroom, with medication or to have a bath… you’re paying extra for that."
Dick says often the only difference between residents in nursing home and assisted living beds is what they pay. She says their medical condition can be the same.
"It’s not a big surprise that the health region is doing this when they know it will cost more when premier Klein himself said they’re going to push the envelope with more private health care and if it costs more he doesn’t care," says Dick. "This just says to me they want to put public money into the hands of their private for profit buddies."
Pat Brownlee, a member of the Coalition of Seniors Advocates, agrees with Dick that P3s are a bad idea.
"P3s basically cost more money to the province because the operator is making a profit on it," she says. "Our main concern is this does not save money at all."
Brownlee says she’s also concerned about how many nursing home beds will be built compared to assisted living beds.
"Where is the plan for the low income person? Fifty-seven per cent of seniors live under $20,000," she says. |
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