Auditor general points to lack of capacity in nursing homes

The growing costs of nursing homes in New Brunswick are not sustainable for the provincial government, says Auditor General Kim MacPherson.

As the population ages in the province, it's projected the number of nursing home beds needed in the province will increase to 10,776 in 2036. That is more than double the 4,428 beds in the nursing home system in 2015.

In her first report of 2016 that was issued Wednesday, MacPhersonalso notes the provincial budget for nursing home services almost tripled between 2000-01 and 2015-16, to $313 million a year.

In addition, "nursing home infrastructure is aging, requiring an estimated $285 million for maintenance, repair and renewal," states MacPherson's report under the headline, "Growing costs are not sustainable."

MacPherson's report notes the Department of Social Development's strategic plan states: "We are facing unprecedented demands on our department from a challenging economy, from the increasing provincial budget deficit and from increasing demands for programs and services."

"A large aging senior demographic requiring services is a challenge to an already strained system," continues the department's strategic plan.

MacPherson notes nursing home services areaccounting for an increasing share of the department's budget, growing to 28 per cent in 2015-16from 17 per cent in 2000-01.

"There are several factors that are a cause for concern when talking about nursing home capacity in the province," states the report.

The nursing homes in the province were operating at 98 per cent capacity with an average waiting time of 3.8 months for people to be placed in a nursing home.

MacPherson notes the number of seniors in New Brunswick is expected to doubleover the next 20 years.

"There is a lack of capacity in the nursing home system to meet current and future demand for nursing home beds," states the report.

MacPherson said a "multi-faceted solution" is needed for the future and the answer is "not as simple as adding more nursing home beds to the existing system."

The report notes the province and Shannex New Brunswick entered into a private-public partnership in 2008 to open 216 new nursing home beds. The auditor general's office later recommended the department provide an evaluation of whether the private-public partnership was more economical for the province than the traditional non-profit nursing home model.

MacPherson's report states that evaluation still hasn't taken place and she repeats her earlier recommendation for that to be carried out.

"They did not do the value-for-money exercise," said MacPherson in a news conference. "I'm not supporting one versus another. What I'm saying is they need to do the analysis and decide which is the best model going forward."

The province is continuing to use the private-public partnership model for new nursing home construction. On Monday, it announced it would issue a request-for-proposals for a new 240-bed nursing home to be built in Miramichi.

"The success of other public-private partnership nursing home projects in the province gives us the confidence that this is the right way to proceed for Miramichi," said Minister of Seniors and Long-term Care Lisa Harris, who was named to the newly created post earlier this month, in a news release on Monday.

There are 65 not-for-profit nursing homes in the province.