EDMONTON – Standards of care in continuing-care facilities must be included in legislation to ensure residents are kept safe, say the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE).
“The Alberta government has a moral obligation to ensure seniors and other vulnerable residents in these facilities get the care they need, but it has taken a dangerous step by removing minimum of hours of care from legislation,” says Sandra Azocar, vice-president of AUPE, which represents 62,000 workers in public, private and not-for-profit health care.
“Unless the minimum care hours are embedded in the act and required by law, it is far too easy for operators to reduce care in order to boost profits,” says Azocar. “It is also easier for governments to bow to corporate pressure and reduce minimum-care requirements out of the sight of Albertans.”
Previous legislation covering continuing care used to require 1.9 hours of care per resident per day. That has been eliminated from the government’s Continuing Care Act, which comes into effect on April 1.
“The requirement for 1.9 hours was completely inadequate,” says Azocar. “The government should have taken this opportunity to increase guaranteed minimum-care hours to 4.5 hours per day, as recommended by the government’s own Facility-Based Continuing Care Review. Instead, it has chosen to put Albertans in danger.
“The government’s decision will inevitably lead to worse care, particularly in private, for-profit facilities. The demand for ever-higher profits will lead to operators cutting care corners. Legislation will be powerless to stop them.”
The Continuing Care Act also seeks to shift continuing-care services from 61% to 70% of seniors in long-term home care by 2030.
“On the surface, this sounds great, but it will only work if enough resources are committed to provide safe and quality care,” says Azocar. “It is clear that the government has no intention of funding this adequately.”
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AUPE vice-president Sandra Azocar is available for media interviews.
For information, please contact Terry Inigo-Jones, communications officer, at 403-831-4394 or t.inigo-jones@aupe.org.