Island Health has announced that they will be providing temporary employees at two long-term care facilities on Vancouver Island.
According to a statement from the authority, this measure is meant to address concerns about the quality of care at Nanaimo Seniors’ Village and Selkirk Place in Victoria.
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Island Health, in cooperation with the Hospital Employees’ Union and BC Nurses’ Union, will begin providing these staff members at Selkirk Place starting Saturday, October 12th.
Similar measures have been in place at Nanaimo Seniors’ Village for several weeks and will continue to remain at the site.
“Our job is to put the health and care of residents in long-term care facilities first and that is what we are doing,” said Adrian Dix, Health Minister.
“The Ministry and I strongly support the decision to temporarily have Island Health staff in each of the facilities to stabilize care in the short-term and allow the private company to develop long-term staffing solutions.”
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According to Mark Blandford, Executive Director of Primary Care and Seniors Health and Acting Vice President of Priority Populations and Initiatives, the additional employees will remain in place for up to 90 days.
They are employed to assist both operators in providing safe, dignified care to the residents in compliance with the standards stipulated in their contracts and in the Community Care and Assisted Living Act.
