Jan Seeley said facilities like hers have extra capacity. CBC

Shortages at New Brunswick nursing homes mean hundreds of seniors are stuck in hospitals while special care homes say they have spare beds.

Jan Seeley, president of New Brunswick’s Special Care Home Association, has owned and operated a facility for 17 years.

She once had waiting lists, but now has empty beds. She said many other care homes also have extra capacity and 1,500 spaces are free province-wide.

There are about 700 seniors stuck in hospitals when they should be in non-hospital care settings.

Seeley said the overburdened nursing homes should be able to send such people to facilities like hers.

“I have dementia residents, people with heart failure, people with insulin. I provide great care, as do so many of my peers,” she said. “I think, why not use that service? Why not support and embrace that service?”

Call for government action

Seeley said special care homes are far less expensive than nursing home placements or hospital stays. She blamed bureaucracy for that not happening.

“Our biggest stumbling block with our association has been the changing of the guard. Every time we seem to get anywhere, a minister changes, a government changes,” she said.

Cecile Cassista of the Coalition for Seniors and Nursing Home Residents' Rights said that hurts everyone.

“The hospital setting is for people who need care immediately. We're talking about seniors who are medically stable, waiting for a placement,” she said.

Michael Keating of the Nursing Home Association said the whole system needs a creative fix.

“In Canada, where so much of this is provided through the public purse, is how much can the public afford in the future? The premier, the finance minister and the ministers have all said that the system as it presently exists is not sustainable,” he said.

Nursing homes, special care homes and other care-giving groups are meeting next month to draft their own solution, aiming for better care with less money.