LEADER POST: http://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/families-workers-raise-more-seniors-care-concerns
The second-last sitting question period of the year focused solely on seniors’ care. As Opposition Leader Cam Broten put concerns to the government, about 10 people sat in the gallery, at times nodding and shaking their heads, sometimes with their arms crossed, as they listened to Premier Brad Wall and Health Minister Dustin Duncan’s answers.
Linda Wacker, a retired social worker from Regina, was one of them.
She worked in health care for about 40 years, including time as the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region’s client representative, and said Wednesday she has “seen the changes over those 40 years, and there just isn’t the staffing on the front line.”
That concerns her, she said, because “decades of research have shown one of the fundamental determinants of good care is staffing — better staffing, better care.”
She shares that worry with Lynn Emerson, whose mother Ann has been at two long-term care facilities in southern Saskatchewan.
Like Wacker, Emerson says the homes she has seen “are extremely understaffed.”
“My concern is the stress that’s putting on the staff,” she said.
“To me, elders are precious, and to see them treated this way breaks my heart.”
Emerson, along with retired care worker Gena Ferguson Peters, also spoke of intimidation for bringing their concerns forward. Both say they were told they could end up in legal hot water, because detailing concerns about resident care could contravene the Health Information Protection Act.
The health minister said he would have “a very important conversation with our leaders to see specifically what has been said to some of these individuals.”
Duncan said he thinks his government has been “very clear” in terms of taking concerns seriously.
“What I’ve said publicly as minster is we want to hear from family members or residents directly, and including staff that work in the system,” he said.
“I take very seriously … the concerns and allegations raised in terms of what some people are saying they’ve heard, especially people who work in long term care, in terms of being discouraged from coming forward.”
