FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 30, 2024
Matt MacFarlane, Third Party Critic for Health, Calls Out King Government for Broken Promises and Continued Delays on New Long-Term Care Beds
Charlottetown, PE – Today Matt MacFarlane, Third Party Critic for Health, is calling on the King government to immediately expedite the licensing process for the promised long-term care beds and to issue the tender for new beds without further delay.
MacFarlane shared his deep concern and frustration over the King government’s ongoing failure to deliver on its promise for much-needed long-term care beds. These delays are causing significant strain on our healthcare system, leading to overcrowded emergency rooms and leaving seniors living in hospitals while waiting for appropriate homes.
On February 26th at his state-of-the-province address, Premier King announced the addition of 54 new long-term care beds, with a commitment to have them available within 30 days, contingent upon the completion of the licensing process. On April 10th, six weeks later, Minister of Health Mark McLane stated that the licensing process would begin immediately and further promised that the Province would issue a tender requesting proposals from private homes to build hundreds of new beds later this spring.
“It’s now over three months since these beds were first announced and seven weeks since the Minister re-announced them,” said MacFarlane. “As of today, there are no public tenders requesting these proposals and no update on licensing. Our seniors and their families deserve better than empty promises and endless delays.”
The lack of long-term care beds is a critical issue that directly impacts the entire healthcare continuum. Seniors who should be in long-term care homes are instead occupying hospital beds, which in turn reduces the availability of these beds for patients who need to be admitted. This bottleneck is crowding our emergency rooms and compromising the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery across the province.
“The government’s inaction is not just a failure of policy but a failure of compassion,” MacFarlane continued. “Our seniors have given so much to our community, and they deserve to spend their later years in dignity and comfort, not in limbo waiting for a bed. Although I prefer to see investment into our public facilities, the fact is that after years of government failing to plan for our aging population, we are in a desperate situation and more beds are needed. It’s time for government to stop making excuses and start making progress.”
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Katie Rankin
Chief of Staff
Office of the Third Party
Tel: (902) 213-6378
Email: kerankin@assembly.pe.ca