Nova Scotia's Opposition parties are blaming the overcrowding of hospitals on a lack of available long-term care beds.
The PCs and NDP say funding should have been set aside to open new beds. All 7,885 beds are occupied, and there are more than 1,100 people on provincial waiting lists.
Wait times for nursing home placements can be more than two years in some parts of the province.
“It's obvious. It's right there in front of us. We need more beds,” says Nova Scotia PC Interim Leader Karla MacFarlane.
The NDP says the cost of caring for a patient in a nursing home is about $250 a day, while care for the same patient in a hospital is more than five times that, at about $1,300 a day.
“Not only do you plug up our emergency rooms, it is also incredibly expensive,” says provincial NDP Leader Gary Burrill.
There are 200 people in hospitals waiting for placements in long-term care. It's a situation that frustrates seniors advocate Gary MacLeod.
“Don't get sick and don't get old in Nova Scotia. It's true. They don't have any respect for the elderly. It's shown in this budget,” he says.
The McNeil Liberals are investing another $5.5 million in home care and caregiver support programs this year. But Gary Burrill says the government has a “public policy blind spot” when it comes to long-term care.
“Every single one of these people has received a professional care assessment of their situation, which has concluded they may not be home,” Burrill says.
The health minister says his department is working on a continuing care strategy, and could open more long-term care facilities.
“We've got to delve into those details and ensure that we know what the requirements will be and also where they will be,” says Nova Scotia Health Minister Randy Delorey.
There is no timeline for when that strategy will be complete.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Sarah Ritchie.
