Panel on long-term care granted extra time to complete work

The expert panel looking for ways to improve long-term care in Nova Scotia has been given another three weeks to complete its work, much to the relief of the group's chair.

Janice Keefe said the number of people who've shared information about the current state of long-term care facilities in the province has "been crazy."

"People have sent us in their reports, we've gotten many letters from people," Keefe said Wednesday from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, where she is director of the Nova Scotia Centre on Aging.

"To me, the real take-home message is people are so willing to share their experiences and their perspective."

Looking for change

That's on top of the many meetings panel members have held with residents of long-term care facilities, their families, the people who work providing care, their union, administrators and others who have a stake in the group's work.

"Despite some of the challenges that they're facing, there's a real desire that there's a readiness to change."

The panel is now expected to complete its work by Dec. 21. Keefe declined to say how much change the panel might be ready to endorse or recommend.

Longest wait times in Cape Breton

When the panel was formed, the government said its focus would be proper wound care, patient and worker safety, and the appropriate care and protection of vulnerable people. One thing not on the list for the panel to consider was the number of long-term care beds in the province.

There are currently 161 people waiting to get into a residential care facility in Nova Scotia, according to a Health Department website that tracks wait times in the province.

People can expect to be on the wait list for a week to 2½ years, depending on where they live and the facility they have their sights set on. The longest waits are for care homes in Cape Breton.

For the 1,147 people on the list to get into a nursing home, the wait is between 53 days and almost a year. As with residential care facilities, the wait times are also longest for those who live in Cape Breton.