Tuesday, 17 September 2024

Department of Health and Wellness

Op-ed: Nova Scotia needs to fund more dementia training in long term care facilities

Karis Mitchell: Nova Scotia needs a provincial long term care strategy that revisits training and staffing hours so that the care facilities can provide the optimal care that is required by its residents. To be placed in a care facility at such a vulnerable stage in our lives can be traumatizing, so it is our responsibility to ensure that we speak openly about these concerns. We must speak up for those that do not have a voice, and those that voices that may not be perceived as valuable in our society. 

Doing the mental healthcare shuffle in Nova Scotia

Late last week Nova Scotia’s auditor general reported that the province lacks a plan for delivering mental health services to all Nova Scotians, and that standards for wait times aren’t being met. New contributor Jessica Briand has seen it all. “In the last seven years I have seen eight different mental health professionals. I’ve witnessed first-hand the flaws in mental healthcare in Nova Scotia,” she writes.

Residents of long term care facilities are at risk, woman alleges

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This is a story as told to us by Ellen Gaudet, who suggests all is not well with long term care in Nova Scotia. Several years ago Gaudet’s parents both resided in a long term care facility in Halifax. When Gaudet noticed things didn’t seem right she spoke up. Neither the facility nor the government really wanted to hear what she had to say. “I want to encourage other people to not abandon their loved ones,” she concludes.

I am made to feel like I am a troublemaker. Fighting for your child at the Nova Scotia Hospital

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The recent allegations of abuse against Matthew Meisner, a resident of Emerald Hall at the Nova Scotia Hospital, have been widely reported, including by the NS Advocate. We went back and talked with Matthew’s mother to learn more about the string of incidents that keep her awake at night, and how she finds the strength to continue on when most everybody she deals with just wants her to go away.

Mother says Nova Scotia Hospital staff placed pillowcase over son’s head

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Matthew Meisner, a young man who spent the last 12 years at a locked down unit within the Nova Scotia Hospital, recently had a pillowcase placed over his head by staff, his mother says. This is only the latest in a series of staff abuse complaints involving Matthew, as the Nova Scotia Advocate reported in March of this year.

News brief. Ally Centre in Sydney may well be forced to close

Last week we reported that Mainline Needle Exchange in Halifax is facing a budget crunch, this week the news is that its Cape Breton counterpart may well close its doors early next year because the federal government is no longer funding the organization. Time for the province to step up to the plate.

Mainline Needle Exchange cuts back services in face of budget crunch

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Mainline Needle Exchange, an organization that helps people who live with drug addictions in mainland Nova Scotia, can’t keep up with the demand, something the provincial government is trying hard to ignore. Lives are at stake. The Nova Scotia Advocate went to Mainline’s open house to find out more.

‘We try but we struggle.’ Budget cuts hit long term care facilities in Nova Scotia

At least two years of long term care budget cuts are making their presence felt. Layoffs at the Port Hawkesbury Nursing Home are making it even harder to provide proper care to its residents, says the president of the affected CUPE local. And Port Hawkesbury is only one of the many long term care facilities and nursing homes affected by the cuts.