The Alberta government says long-term care and supportive living programs will no longer be under the purview of the provincial Health Ministry.
Instead, Seniors and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon will be responsible for continuing care programs across Alberta.
The change comes as part of the provincial government’s health-care system overhaul that is seeing Alberta Health Services broken up into four new agencies, including one responsible for continuing care.
In an interview Wednesday, Nixon said details about the new agency, such as what it will be called and when it will be operational, are still being finalized.
In the meantime, he said there will be no immediate changes to services as a result of the ministry swap.
Nixon said the change will allow his ministry to use its experience facilitating social services to improve patient outcomes when it comes to access to long-term care, such as assisted living facilities for seniors.
“Our main objective of this process is to be able to make sure that we’re bringing to bear the full power and services of the social services sector and other aspects of our system when it comes to caring for people that find themselves needing to go into continuing care [or] long-term care,” he said.
“The vast majority of social services that are provided to individuals that are going into care are outside of the hospital.”
Nixon said that while the details of how the new agency will operate are still being determined, he imagines the agency will be intertwined with Alberta Health Services when it comes to supporting soon-to-be discharged hospital patients.
“We would step in as the community care provider to then work to be able to find those individuals the most appropriate place to be able to establish themselves for long-term care inside the community.”
When asked why the government decided against folding social services into the Health Ministry if the goal is to better co-ordinate continuing care options for patients, Nixon said it would make the Health Ministry too big to manage.
“To fold those two together would end up being almost three-quarters of the government,” he said. “It’s not manageable.”
“What this is doing is taking this down to where we can focus on letting the social services system do their job.”
In a statement, the Opposition NDP’s seniors critic Lori Sigurdson said switching the ministry responsible for continuing care will have no effect on the services available to those who need it.
“These new administrative changes do not build a single new continuing care bed or offer more service for our loved ones who are stuck without options between hospital and home,” she said.
Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare, was also critical of the government’s decision.
“Albertans don’t fall into one category when they need care — they are one person and need seamless access to all pillars of health care,” he said in a statement.
“What the system needs is adequate funding, minimum care and staffing standards, and a workforce plan.”
On Tuesday, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange announced that Primary Care Alberta is the new organization responsible for overseeing basic forms of care such as family doctors and nurse practitioners.
Another new agency called Recovery Alberta took over the mental health and addictions portfolio from Alberta Health Services earlier this year.