Elderly patients waiting in hospital beds could be in special care homes instead

As the NBHC points out, elderly patients suffer from being stuck in hospitals and this ties up beds meant for other patients, an occupational therapist at a special care home in Moncton believes more seniors in hospital waiting to be placed in a nursing home should go to a special care home instead. During the pandemic, when the departments of Health and Social Development worked together, she explains, patients were discharged in a timely manner to the right type of facility. This requires knowledge on the part of nurses and doctors doing the discharges and having the discussions with families – something she says can be done. She cites a pilot project the province ran for three years at Auberge du Soleil in Dieppe that transfered hospital patients to the home and provided additional staffing hours and clinical oversight through the extramural program.