Mr. Bussey disagreed with Mr. Coady’s call for changes to assessment, and said people entering personal care or long-term care homes should be able to pay their own way rather than depend on taxpayer’s money.
Mr. Coady also encouraged the province to look at what other provinces do when providing allowances to seniors, and to ensure people accessing homecare support workers can do so for as long as possible.
“Everyone is more happy in their own homes if they can suitable, affordable homecare.”
Such care is easier to come by in smaller communities than in larger centres, he said, because of competition from jobs in retail outlets and the food industry that pay just as well as homecare jobs.
Jane Bussey asked about the possibility of offering daycare for seniors with trained recreation directors. She said this would be beneficial to families who have a parent living with them.
Margie Hancock, a recent retiree, said the current system is not working for everybody. In the case of families moving away for work to Alberta, some older members of the family are forced to join them, otherwise they may be forced to move to a larger service centre.
Public consultation meetings will continue into September.
info@ganderbeacon.ca
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