For Immediate Release June 21, 2018
ACE Team wants to see real action to prevent nursing home bedsores
The ACE (Advocates for the Care of the Elderly) Team welcomes the new bedsore measures for nursing homes which were announced today by Health and Wellness Minister Randy Delorey. But ACE also wonders why it took so long for the government to finally act.
According to ACE Team Chairperson Gary MacLeod, “Today’s announcement is an indictment of government inaction on this problem until now. They are dealing with the issue after the fact. But what residents, staff and family members really want to know is what the government willing to do to prevent bedsores from ever happening at all.”
“Bedsores are preventable and mostly a problem due to poor hygiene such as infrequent changing if incontinent pads and one bath a week. We want to know when the government is going to provide more funding to nursing homes, and to make sure there is an adequate number of qualified staff in each and every nursing home. All of this is essential to providing the necessary personal attention to prevent the outbreak of bedsores in the first place.”
MacLeod further said: “The legislative initiatives proposed by the Nova Scotia Nurses Union would also help to prevent bedsores and improve quality of care.”
He concluded: “Today’s announcement by the Minister should mean the government will be ending its “hands-off” approach to long-term care. The systemic problems of nursing homes must be addressed, and this means more funding, more qualified staffing, and much more openness and accountability.”
The ACE Team was set up in 2006 as a group of concerned family members who want to improve long-term care for the elderly.
For more information, visit https://theaceteamadvoctesforthecareoftheelderly.wordpress.com/
