The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives have published Caring for the Future: Frontline Workers on the Challenges in Saskatchewan's Long-Term Care Sector.
While COVID-19 didn't cause the crisis in long-term care, it certainly exposed it for all to see. In Saskatchewan we witnessed the unprecedented step by the government to take over ownership of five previously privately-operated long-term care (LTC) homes after a deadly outbreak killed 39 residents. But despite these steps, has the crisis in long-term care been adequately addressed in Saskatchewan? To find out we talked to the people who know long-term care better than anybody else - the people who work in the sector.
Caring for the Future: Frontline Workers on the Challenges in Saskatchewan’s Long-Term Care Sector investigates the current state of our province's long-term care sector based on interviews with frontline workers. These workers paint a picture of a deeply broken and unsustainable part of our health system. Chronic under-staffing continues to pervade the sector, contributing to deteriorating work conditions for staff and a diminishing quality-of-life for residents. Equipment and facilities are often in states of disrepair, acts of aggression and violence against staff are common, injuries are recurrent and recruitment and retention of qualified staff continues to frustrate the sector. As we enter an election this fall, we need to heed the voices of these workers about not only what is broken in the sector, but what they believe can repair and build a long-term care sector that can meet Saskatchewan's needs well into the future.
