A shortage of long-term care and respite beds has prompted a La Ronge man to travel to Regina this week to voice his displeasure with the government in not keeping its promise to build a new facility in that community.
Gary Viteri cares for his wife, who has early onset dementia, while operating a family business. He says he has to care for his wife because there are no available beds in La Ronge.
“It’s a big struggle. I’m getting exhausted, its 7-days a week, 24 hours a day. We’re limited to the resources we have up there. The government has to do something,” Viteri said.
La Ronge has 14 long-term care and two respite beds, all occupied.
In 2014, the government committed to replacing and expanding the La Ronge facility, but that has since stalled at the planning stage.
“They spent well over $500,000 on this project and it got shelved. I’m in business. I don’t start a job and then half way through decide I’m not going to finish. I start something, I finish it, I think the government should do the same,” explained Viteri. “If something happened to me tomorrow, my wife could end up anywhere in the province where ever there is a bed available. As taxpayers, myself, my wife and anybody else that pays taxes up there I don’t think its fair to the seniors.”
Rural and Remote Health Minister Greg Ottenbreit says the government is still committed to building a new facility in La Ronge.
“These reasons are exactly why a new, expanded, long-term care facility’s been approved for La Ronge, is in the planning stages,” said Ottenbreit. “We have more in the planning stages, but we have increased the spending for our long-term care beds throughout the province, including the North. One of the first long-term care facilities that did open was in Prince Albert, not north to many people, but more of a northern facility in this province.”
(PHOTO: Gary Viteri at the Sask. Legislative Building. By Dan Jones.)