Creating 'centres of excellence' will help improve senior care in hospitals, says health minister

Health Minister Tom Osborne announced new initiatives to improve access to health care for seniors in Newfoundland and Labrador's major hospitals, but says it will take time before goals are realized.

Osborne announced the province is establishing "centres of excellence in aging"in parts of Newfoundland, beginning with the new Western Memorial Regional Hospital in Corner Brook set to open in 2024 alongsidethe Health Sciences Centre in St. John's and the new St. Clare'sMercy Hospital, which has yet to be built.

Work to establish the centres will include putting 90 beds in the new St. Clare's for acute care of the elderly, along with senior rehabilitation and restorative care.

Osborne said centres will also include senior-friendly services and emergency care at the centre, which he said includes training more staff in care specific to older adults and making emergency rooms more comfortable for seniors.

"We've heard stories and anecdotes of experiences, often difficult experiences, seniors sometimes have visiting and navigating emergency departments. Establishing centres of excellence for seniors will lead to improved access to quality health care for our seniors," Osborne said.

While the centres will be first established on the Avalon and west coast of Newfoundland, Osborne said the province is still working on plans for central Newfoundland and "appropriate programming" inLabrador.

He added that the centres will be tied to family care clinics, allowing for a continuum of care for seniors.

Pat Parfrey, co-chair of the provincial Health Accord committee, said the continuum is especially important as residents age. He cited that Newfoundland and Labrador is the oldest population in Canada, and 20 per cent of the population is over 65.

"This is a health-care problem that is barrelling down the track to us," he said."[The Health Accord] emphasized that we needed to consider aging in place, prevention and management of frailty in the community, better use of long-term care facilities ... and an acute care sector that was sensitive to the needs of older people."

Parfrey said the centres will providespecialized care which will improve the health-care system as a whole as knowledge and training is shared across the province.

Osborne also announced the province is funding the creation of a new geriatric medicine training program, and expanding Memorial University's care for the elderly training program for family physicians.

The $5 million over five years will enable physicians to train in geriatrics inthe province for the first time, Osborne said, adding there are only four trained geriatricians in the entire province.

WATCH | Tom Osborne and Dr. Susan Mercer tell us what to expect:

How will centres of excellence for seniors care be different?

11 months ago

Duration 1:28

The Newfoundland and Labrador government is creating centres of excellence for seniors at major health-care facilities throughout the province. How will these new centres be different from what we see today?

Dr. Susan Mercer, N.L. Health Services' clinical chief of older adult care, said that training will be essential in modernizing the system moving forward and help with recruitment and retention measures.

"[Training away]creates a significant challenge for recruitment and retention of these specialists back to our province," she said. "We can train more physicians specializing in older adult care right here at home."

NDP Leader Jim Dinn told reporters following the announcement that he had some concerns, especially around how central Newfoundland and Labrador weren't deemed a necessity for a centre of excellence.

"What do we need to keep seniors independent, aging in place,and able to do things on their own?" he asked. "You know, as I begin that long slow slide into oblivion, those are the things that I'm going to be looking forward to as to what do I need."

Download ourfree CBC News appto sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador.Click here to visit our landing page.