Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor

Elderly Saskatoon man too sick for care home, too healthy for nursing home: son

By The Canadian Press   

News

August 25, 2014 – A man says the health-care system in Saskatchewan is failing his 95-year-old father.

Tom Armstrong spoke to the media Friday in front of Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon.

That's where his father, Roy, is because there is no place for him to go.

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Armstrong says his father, a veteran of the Second World War, has
pancreatic, bone and bladder cancer and has suffered several heart
attacks, the latest which took him out of his care home and into
hospital.

Now, Armstrong says the province has told him his dad
is in “the grey zone” – too sick to be looked after at his former care
home, but still assessed as being too healthy for placement in a nursing
home.

The Saskatoon Health Region confirmed there's not enough long-term beds for all the seniors seeking care.

“There are lots of unmet needs in this province,” said health region CEO Maura Davies.

“We do not have adequate resources and programs to meet the needs of our seniors.”

Davies
said there are 2,500 long-term care beds spread across 30 facilities
across the Saskatoon health region, but there is a long list of people
waiting for the few spots available.

“We have 102 people in the
health region, as of this week, waiting for placement in long-term care.
In addition we have others, dozens literally, waiting to be assessed,”
she said.

The uncertainty is making his father's situation worse, says his son.

“Last night, when I said good night to my dad, he said he wished he could die. He's tired of fighting.”


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