The New Brunswick Nurses Union wants a provincial inquiry into what it calls the unacceptable state of the long-term care sector.
The call comes as the Union released a report on nursing homes – The Forgotten Generation: An Urgent Call for Reform in New Brunswick’s Long-Term Care Sector.
“Our long-term care sector is operating in a fog. Government is out of data and cannot be relied upon to fix this crisis alone. We must have a provincial inquiry under the terms of the Inquiries Act, so that we can finally have the evidence we need to begin some desperately needed reforms,” said Paula Doucet, president of the Nurses Union.
“There is no time to lose. Our most vulnerable seniors are at risk,” added Doucet.
With its reports from RN’s on the frontlines, The Forgotten Generation lays out shocking evidence of the declining standards of care in provincial nursing homes, including;
73% of RNs surveyed report resident care has declined in their home over the last 3-5 years;
An overwhelming majority of RNs (89%) report that residents are not being regularly provided with exercise;
A strong majority of RNs (63%) report that residents are not being regularly toileted;
A strong majority of RNs (61%) report that families are not being regularly kept informed; and
A majority of RNs (57%) report that residents are not being regularly bathed.
Seniors advocate Cecile Cassista says she contributed to the report and wasn’t surprised by the findings.
“What we need to do is to make sure that we get the extramural nurses working and get people trying to live at home. As long as they languish in the hospital, they are going to be weaker and weaker and they are going to require going into nursing homes and special care homes.”
Cassista believes the system is broken and she has learned about 700 seniors are currently on waitlists for long-term care beds and more than half are waiting in hospitals.
She adds the first thing the province should do is transfer seniors care from social development to the health department which would follow most provinces.
Cassista fully supports a public inquiry noting how problems persisted long before the pandemic hit.
“I think COVID just brought it more to light because now seniors are isolated and they have mental health issues.”
“This inquiry is needed to help our province answer some hard questions,” said Doucet.
“How is it, for example, that resident acuity in nursing homes continues to increase year after year, while the number of regulated care staff continues to decline? How can we allow half the nursing homes in New Brunswick to not meet minimum standards for safe staffing?” asked Doucet.
“Why are violence rates in nursing homes so alarmingly high, and why do New Brunswick’s leaders feel privatization will make things better when the overwhelming weight of evidence tells us it is certain to make things worse?”
The Forgotten Generation contains 38 different recommendations for the federal and provincial governments to take urgently needed action on the state of New Brunswick’s long-term care sector.
