Laurie in Question Period
Health Care Aides
Questions asked in the 26th Legislature of Alberta, 3rd Session by Ms. Laurie Blakeman, Alberta Liberal MLA for Edmonton-Centre, Shadow Cabinet Minister for Health and Wellness
Alberta Hansard November 13, 2007
Ms Blakeman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Bonita Davidson, a constituent from Edmonton-Centre, is here today advocating for better wages and working conditions for personal caregivers like herself. She’s been a personal care attendant for over 25 years and has seen too many good, qualified caregivers leave the profession because wages and salaries are just too low. My first question is to the minister of health. When will the minister increase funding to provincial home care programs and providers so that caregivers receive reasonable and competitive wages and stay in the sector? Home care is still cheaper than facility or hospital care.
The Speaker: The hon. Minister of Health and Wellness.
Mr. Hancock: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The hon. member raises a very important issue. We do have a concern, almost a crisis, with respect to the provision of home care and home care attendants and personal care aides, and salary is a very important part of that. I’ve been working with my colleagues, actually, in Children’s Services and Employment, Immigration and Industry with respect to pulling together how we deal with wages in this sector and contracted-out agencies because in the service at the front end of the system in many systems, whether it’s children’s services or health or other areas, we are facing a crisis. With the tight economy and the shortage of workers that we have, we have to be able to pay more to keep good people in those areas.
The Speaker: The hon. member.
Ms Blakeman: Thank you. Well, I’m glad to see that the minister is beginning to think about possibly working on it. At the 2004 first ministers’ meeting each province agreed to, one, provide first-dollar coverage for home care services; two, develop a plan for implementing these services by December of 2006, two years later; three, report annually on the progress. So my question to the minister of health is: where is this plan, and when will Albertans get to see it?
Mr. Hancock: Well, Mr. Speaker, we tabled a health workforce action plan that was a product of work between three ministries in government, and in that plan we identified precisely this area that needed to be worked on. I have been working on getting the necessary budget and the necessary resources to be able to properly fund this particular area because it’s an essential service to Albertans. It’s taking care of the most vulnerable people at a time when they need it the most. So absolutely important. We’re working on getting the budget resources in place and dealing with this very issue.
The Speaker: The hon. member.
Ms Blakeman: Thank you. My next question is to the Minister of Employment, Immigration and Industry. Health care aides perform a wide range of duties, from assisting clients with bathing and dressing to walking and therapy. They may be required to lift items weighing up to 20 kilograms or be on their feet for very long periods of time. My question is: what supports are available for private caregivers without WCB who get injured on the job?
Ms Evans: Mr. Speaker, I’m not aware of any private caregivers that are not covered by WCB, and I would be very pleased if the hon. member opposite would share those particular stories with me. I would be very interested in finding out exactly how we make contact. If I had that information, I would follow through.
We make sure as much as possible that we look after employment standards, occupational health and safety. We added staff in this area this year. We’re very anxious to improve that. The hon. member will remember that when we announced the workforce strategy, the minister of health also announced the use of patient lifts in many of these facilities to help the personal care attendants. I look forward to getting the information.
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