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home / 世界杯决赛2022

sask's dementia care gaps part of bigger, long-term care concerns: experts

a u of r researcher sees long-term care resources struggling at all levels, including in dementia care and pain management.

by larissa kurz

oct 24 2022
read time 3 minute read
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thomas hadjistavropoulos, psychology professor and research chair in aging and health, in his office at the university of regina on friday, january 24, 2020. troy fleece / regina leader-post
saskatchewan’s ministry of health says that while a provincial dementia strategy is not in place, services are available to help address assessment and diagnosis within the health care system.

the ministry is responding to a report recently released by the group canage , which examined the dementia preparedness of canada’s provinces and found saskatchewan to be ill-equipped to handle the potential rise in dementia patients anticipated with “rapidly aging populations.”

“people with alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, along with their families, have access to a number of services delivered through the saskatchewan health authority, its affiliated agencies and other community-based organizations,” said an emailed statement provided by the ministry.
saskatchewan reports that one in six residents in the province are over 65, surpassing the national average, which isn’t expected to reach that threshold until close to 2050.
with risk of a dementia diagnosis near doubling after the age of 85, canage ceo laura tamblyn watts said this is an “incredibly concerning” reality given the increasing rarity of experts on the medical impacts of aging.
she said a continuously aging population, strained health resources in long-term care and low confidence in general practitioners should be more than “red flags” for policy makers.
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“they are alarm bells, that need to go off for this government,” tamblyn watts said in an interview monday. “we’re really seeing what looks like a possibility of breaking our healthcare system, unless we take some proactive measures.”
university of regina professor thomas hadjistavropolous, who is currently research chair for ageing and health, agreed.
he sees a lack of dementia preparedness as very likely to impact other pieces of long-term care, including the focus of his current research: pain management.
“ninety per cent of people have persistent pain and yet pain is under-treated and under-recognized because people with severe dementia cannot tell you they have pain, or when the pain gets better or worse,” hadjistavropolous said in an interview monday.
specialized supports are offered through health services within the sha, said the ministry, including through two dementia assessment units deployed to communities and facilities.
the province also provides $1.1 million in funding to the alzheimer’s society of saskatchewan for informational support programs, and supports operation of a memory clinic at the university of saskatchewan that offers assessment, diagnosis and referrals on a shortened timeline.
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but, as tamblyn watts points out, nearly three-quarters of people diagnosed with dementia in saskatchewan live in home settings, receiving care from volunteers or loved ones.
in facilities, hadjistavropolous emphasized that long-term care as a sector continues to be vastly under-researched, underfunded, and under-resourced.
“long term care is the weakest link of our healthcare system,” hadjistavropolous said. “under-resourcing is a huge problem that’s going to be compounded with the greying of the baby boomer, that’s just before us.
“people simply don’t have the resources or there isn’t enough systemic support to result in clinical change.”
both hadjistavropolous and tamblyn watts say this strains care and comfort of patients, and snowballs the costs of care on all levels. they indicated that long-term action needs to be a priority, including dedicated focus on information campaigns and training initiatives.

tamblyn watts said canage “would like to see a dementia lens put on government care and services,” beginning immediately. 

and hadjistavropolous said he waits to see how the province plans to implement national recommendations on minimum care standards, which have yet to be outlined by the federal government.

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in its statement, the ministry said it will “continue to invest in health and social services, housing and financial supports” for seniors to “ensure their health, dignity and well-being can be maintained,” but offered no specifics on plans.
lkurz@postmedia.com

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larissa kurz
larissa kurz

larissa kurz is a health, education and general assignment reporter for the regina leader-post, whose work has also appeared in the saskatoon starphoenix and other postmedia papers.she is a university of saskatchewan alumni and has written for both print and digital news outlets in southern saskatchewan since 2019. she was part of the leader-post and starphoenix team that won the 2022 national newspaper award for breaking news.prior to coming to the leader-post in 2022, larissa worked for the moose jaw express and with glacier media in moose jaw and regina, sask.

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