B.C’s Minister of Health says plans are in the works for the problems surrounding senior care aids.
Minister Adrian Dix says, they’re working on increasing care hours.
“It’s a huge challenge. The previous government put in, after 16 years, I think it was the case that 91% of care homes in B.C didn’t meet provincial staffing standards. That isn’t good enough.”
Dix says, it isn’t just about money, it’s about having enough staff, with 900 new care aids needing to be hired.
“And as many people know, this work is also very difficult work in many cases, it had some of the highest injury rates, if not, the highest injury rates in the province. And more than 50% of care aids are part time, or casual. That gives an opportunity, but it also indicates how difficult it is.”
Dix says, to meet their goals, they need to replace everyone who’s retiring, add new care aids, nurses, LPN’s and other health professionals.
While they’ll be addressing it in detail after the budget reveal, Dix says, it will be an enormous effort from the Health Ministry, the BC Care Providers, and all other organizations involved.