HEALTH--Extending Practice for Nursing Home Beds

Health Minister Jamie Muir released more details today on extending a practice that will apply to people in hospitals who are waiting for nursing home beds.

The practice provides greater consistency for people receiving long term care and will help reduce hospital costs.

“The practice that is currently being implemented in Cape Breton will be gradually extended across the province as we move forward with single entry access,” said Mr. Muir. “The $50 charge will only apply to people who have been medically discharged from a hospital and are waiting for a nursing home bed. Obviously, similar to a nursing home setting, people’s ability to pay will be taken into consideration.”

Extending the practice as part of single entry will help to ensure people have access to a bed sooner than later. Cape Breton has been home to the single entry pilot project since October 2000. As a direct result, wait lists for nursing home beds in the area have reduced from 300 to less than 100.

New Brunswick implemented single entry in 1989. By 1994, the waiting lists for nursing home beds dropped from 1050 to between 50 and 80. The number of medically discharged patients in hospital beds waiting for long term care placement went from 300 to 50. The province went from a projected need to build 300 nursing home beds to the closure of 141 beds in 1996. As of November 1996, there were between 60 and 80 vacant nursing home beds in the province -- 25 per cent of nursing homes had vacant beds.

The department will start to extend the practice over the next six to eight weeks in cooperation with the new District Health Authorities who requested this change.

It is expected that the new policy will generate about $1 million.

Yesterday’s budget announcement also included:

• an additional $1.5 million to improve senior’s access to home care, long term care and other continuing care services.

• an additional $19 million for long-term care;

• an additional $10.5 million for home care; and

• no change in Pharmacare premiums or co-payments.