Plan to free up hospital beds draws mixed reviews from MDs, nurses
Doctors and nurses in Newfoundland and Labrador say a pilot project to move some hospital patients to personal care homes is necessary, but worry it may affect patient care.
Eastern Health, the province's largest health authority, issued a tender call in mid-August for personal care homes to take in some hospital patients to alleviate the shortage of hospital beds.
Nurses in the province have long called on government to do something about the bed shortage as they watched sick and elderly patients line up on stretchers in emergency room corridors while waiting for a space.
Debbie Forward, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses Union, said the government must find a long-term solution outside the six-month pilot program.
"This is a Band-Aid, but I think you need a bigger picture, which is government's issues around the direction of health services in the province, because we don't have an adequate home-care system," Forward said.
Patients qualifying for transfer to a personal care home would be those ready for discharge from hospital, but waiting on home-care support or medical equipment.
Followup care for patients questioned
Dr. Elizabeth Callahan, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association, told CBC News she hears from doctors who are frustrated that hospital beds aren't always available for patients who need them.
However, Callahan said she questions what sort of care patients who are transferred out of the hospital will receive in a care home.
"There are lots of inherent problems," Callahan said. "Who actually looks after the patient there, do they go back to their family doctor? Are they looked after by the doctor who looks after patients in that home? In that situation, it could fragment the patient's care."
The goal of the pilot project is to move 50 patients per year from hospital beds to personal care homes. The six-month project could be extended after a review.
An official with Eastern Health told CBC News the health authority will watch closely to make sure patients are well-treated.