After three years of frozen funding, P.E.I. long-term care deals close
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CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — After practically three years of negotiations, a deal between the P.E.I. authorities and P.E.I.’s personal and non-profit long-term care houses is shut.
Virtually half of the province’s long-term care beds are in personal services, whereas tons of extra Island seniors are cared for in group care services, which require comparatively much less nursing care. The province’s funding agreements with these services, which set out per-bed quantities for backed residents of personal group care and long-term care houses, expired in March 2020.
This has meant provincial per-bed funding charges have been frozen at pre-pandemic ranges all through the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Excessive inflation has additionally pushed up prices.
Representatives of group care houses and long-term care houses have knowledgeable SaltWire Community that, as of March 10, new funding offers with the province are near completion however haven’t been absolutely finalized.
“We have completed our negotiations, we have come to an settlement. We’re simply within the means of signing it off,” Cecil Villard, govt director for the P.E.I. Affiliation of Group Lengthy Time period Care, advised SaltWire on Feb. 24.
Villard’s group represents personal group care houses. On March 10, Villard stated the state of affairs was unchanged.
Ramsay Duff, CEO of the MacLeod Group and a member of the Nursing Properties Affiliation of P.E.I., stated long-term care houses have reached an settlement in precept. Particular person houses should finalize and signal the agreements with authorities.
“My understanding is new agreements are being delivered for signature. As soon as the signature course of has been accomplished by all events, it’s my additional understanding that authorities will situation an announcement to which we could also be invited to take part,” Duff stated in a March 10 e mail.
Duff stated an announcement from the province will probably happen someday subsequent week.
Previous to calling the election, Progressive Conservative Chief Dennis King advised SaltWire Community on Feb. 16 {that a} deal had been reached.
At the moment, King additionally stated he believed the province must “make investments extra in government-owned long-term care services.”
“We’re dedicated to doing that in the long term,” King stated.
Non-public group care houses and nursing houses negotiate separate funding agreements with separate departments. The Division of Social Improvement and Housing units group care per-bed funding charges whereas the Division of Well being units nursing dwelling per-bed funding charges.
The information comes because the province is about to obtain a lift to its health-care funds due to a brand new federal-provincial health-care funding deal. It’s unclear how a lot funding P.E.I.’s long-term care sector will obtain from this deal.
Agreements adopted marketing campaign
Final fall, P.E.I.’s personal nursing houses launched a public marketing campaign accusing the province of sustaining a two-tier system of long-term care.
Duff had publicly stated personal and non-profit houses obtained 47 cents for each greenback publicly funded long-term care houses obtained. This has hindered the sector’s means to retain skilled workers.
Group care houses didn’t play an energetic position on this marketing campaign.
However Villard confirmed the group care sector has been going through comparable struggles with workers retention.
“One of many main considerations we had going into negotiations – and authorities responded – was our concern for the extent of salaries in group care. And that actually is a part of the negotiated outcomes,” Villard advised SaltWire in February.
A assessment of P.E.I.’s long-term care sector carried out by the Division of Well being warned the province might want to develop the variety of beds within the province by 35 per cent by 2025 if the province doesn’t improve dwelling care companies.
The assessment additionally discovered a $3- to $6-per-hour disparity in workers pay charges between private and non-private long-term care dwelling.
Neither King nor the leaders of the Inexperienced, NDP or Liberal events have launched their platform plans to deal with the province’s challenges in long-term and group care.
Stu Neatby is a political reporter with the SaltWire Community in Prince Edward Island. He may be reached by e mail at [email protected] and adopted on Twitter @stu_neatby.
