David Coon, leader of the New Brunswick Green Party, speaks in Moncton on Sept. 3, 2019. (Staff photo)
The Green Party of New Brunswick is calling the New Brunswick Nurses Union’s investigation into the long-term care sector a ‘wake-up call’ for political leaders.
Party leader David Coon says government after government has failed to provide even the bare minimum funding necessary for nursing homes to comply with provincial standards of care, inadequate as they are.
According to the report, in 2019, nearly half the homes were unable to meet minimum staffing requirements. Reliance on casual staffing has risen to unacceptably high levels of more than 75 per cent.
Green MLAs Kevin Arseneau and Megan Mitton both have nursing homes in their ridings and are equally concerned by the findings of the investigation.
Coon says the system is broken, adding that there is no direct link between the level of funding and the health needs of nursing home residents.
“This means that most residents do not receive the 2.89 hours of care, as staff tend to those with the most extreme needs,” says Coon.
Coon has singled out six of the 38 recommendations and is calling on the Higgs government to implement them immediately.
- Establish a Commission of Inquiry under the Inquires Act to make recommendations on budget needs, resident care, safe staffing levels, transparency, and governance in nursing homes.
- Provide sufficient funds to increase the number of full-time permanent positions in order to decrease the proportion of casual employment in our nursing homes.
- Increase the number of care hours provided to nursing home residents from 2.89 hours per day to 4.1 hours.
- Ensure nursing homes have the means to comply with the staffing standards for registered nurses 24 hours a day.
- Hire sufficient inspectors to restore acceptable levels of accountability in New Brunswick nursing homes.
- Halt the effort to privatize the nursing home sector.
