Ottawa And Saskatchewan Announce Agreement To Enhance Cleaning At Long Term Care Homes

The COVID - 19 pandemic showed some flaws in senior care homes where the virus spread in many of the facilities. In an effort to fix the problems found with cleaning of facilities and staff screening processes the federal and provincial governments have signed a bilateral agreement.

Under the Safe Long-Term Care Fund (SLTCF) Saskatchewan will receive more than $32 million to improve care by supporting enhanced screening protocols for staff, safer dining practices, and increased cleaning and housekeeping.

In a release coinciding with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to a care home in Saskatoon the bilateral program was announced.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to a long term care home resident in Saskatoon as part of announcing the bilateral agreement - photo credit Twitter

“No matter who you are or where you live in Canada, you should have access to quality health care when you need it. Today’s agreement to better support people who live and work in long-term care homes is good news for everyone in Saskatchewan. We will continue to work with all provinces and territories to be there for our seniors, ensure that everyone can be treated with dignity and respect as they age, and build a long-term care system we can all be proud of,” the Prime Minister said in a statement.

In their response to the announcement the Province said the funding agreement was part of a larger commitment to seniors in Saskatchewan long-term care homes.

“Saskatchewan is continuing to make significant investments to improve long-term care. As a province, we are investing more than $750 million this year to support Saskatchewan seniors in long-term care, including fulfilling our commitment to hire 300 new full-time equivalent continuing care aides in long-term care and home care and continued progress on long-term care home replacement projects in six communities,” The Hon. Everett Hindley, Saskatchewan’s Minister of Health and Addictions, Seniors, and Rural and Remote Health is quoted in the release.

Federal funding under SLTCF is only available to government owned or non-profit owned care homes. no federal funding will be available for privately owned For Profit care homes through SLTCF.