Henderson, speaking at the annual meeting of the O’Leary Community Heath Foundation, acknowledged the number of patients province-wide who are occupying hospital beds while awaiting manor placement has caused the health care system to become backlogged in the past. He admits the popular solution is to add more long-term care beds to the provincial system.
“Every community wants more beds, and they’re all planning this, and there’s no thought put into it at all,” the minister suggested.
So Henderson said his department has hired an advisor to evaluate strategies, including home care, that support seniors health and well-being.
He said P.E.I. has the third highest number of long-term beds per capita in the country but he suggests its support for home care is on the low side.
He suggested seniors would prefer to stay in their own hoes if they could be provided with the supports they need.
And if it turns out more long-term beds are needed, Henderson is hoping the review will help determine where they should be located.
For every 1,000 people in P.E.I. over the age of 75, Henderson said P.E.I. has 105.5 long-term care beds. He said the Canadian average is 82 beds.
The province, Henderson reported, has added 145 long-term care beds since 2007. Over the past five years the average length of stay in long-term care beds has gone up from 2.7 years to 2.9 years.
