REGINA -- The provincial government says it is taking steps to improve the situation at Parkside Extendicare as the long term care home tries to deal with a major COVID-19 outbreak.
There are 200 beds at the facility, and 94 have tested positive to COVID-19 as of Monday evening. In addition, 53 staff members have tested positive. The home has moved 25 of its healthy residents to another facility and the government has sent in replacement staff.
“We are very concerned about what’s transpiring at Parkside Extendicare here in Regina and we’re committed to ensuring the safety of the residents in that particular facility, as well as the staff,” Everett Hindley, the minister of rural and remote health, said.
The Saskatchewan NDP is questioning the province’s plan.
“Residents are dying alone in their rooms and yet this government still doesn’t have a plan to protect them or the staff who care for them,” NDP leader Ryan Meili said in the house of assembly on Monday.
A 2019 report by the Saskatchewan Health Authority suggested the home, that has up to four residents in some rooms, was aging and in need of replacement. The
“We’re doing spot audits to make sure that everybody is complying with the Public Health Orders,” Paul Merriman, the minister of health, said. “This one, we want to make sure that we have the proper amount of people in there because there are so many staff members that are down, so we do have some management in there along with some front line workers.”
