The provincial NDP says there should be more investments in long-term care to give every resident their own room.
The party said that the response to a freedom of information request it made shows 326 people died in hospital in 2019-2020 while awaiting placement in a long-term care facility or supported living situation.
“For those who need to be in long-term care, living in a hospital bed is an unacceptable alternative,” NDP Leader Gary Burrill said in a release.
“The Liberal government has neglected long-term care so completely during their seven years in power that hundreds of people are stuck on a wait-list and hundreds more have to wait in hospital for a placement. We need to be making the investment needed now to address this need.”
The party said that, cumulatively, there are thousands of days that people across the province are in, what are called, alternate level of care beds in hospitals awaiting long-term care placement.
It said that people waiting in that situation don't have access to the same social supports provided in long-term care facilities, and the $1,000 a day for a person to stay in the hospital is about four times the cost for a bed in a nursing home.
The release said the government still hasn't said whether $230 million in infrastructure stimulus money is going to previously announced long-term care projects, or additional facilities.
