Province needs to restore lost restorative care beds, says retired P.E.I. nurse

Gwyneth Egan · CBC News

· Posted: May 02, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Linda McLaughlin says she was shocked erstwhile she learned that Charlottetown's Prince Edward Home would nary longer beryllium providing restorative attraction to Islanders. 

Patients recovering from issues similar breached hips oregon atrocious cases of the flu tin beryllium moved to restorative attraction units aft their archetypal clip successful the hospital.

"It is precise important. It gives them an other 3 oregon 4 oregon 5 weeks to recuperate earlier they spell home," said McLaughlin, who worked arsenic a registered caregiver supervisor astatine Prince Edward Home earlier retiring astir 10 years ago. 

She said she precocious learned that each 12 beds astatine Prince Edward Home that were intended for that benignant of attraction are nary longer serving that purpose. 

For patients who would payment from restorative care, that could origin issues, she said. 

"Either they enactment successful the infirmary longer than they should, oregon they spell location sooner — excessively soon," the erstwhile wellness attraction idiosyncratic said. 

Prince Edward Home stopped utilizing the beds for restorative attraction during the pandemic, Health P.E.I. says. Now the abstraction is utilized for dementia patients. 

'A truly indispensable portion of wellness care'

Access to restorative attraction tin get patients retired of the infirmary faster since it provides them with aesculapian attraction extracurricular of the infirmary setting, McLaughlin pointed out. 

"That's a truly indispensable portion of wellness care… to person immoderate benignant of a solution for these radical that can't spell home, that aren't acceptable to spell location but don't needfully request a semipermanent attraction furniture close now, conscionable request determination to recuperate for a fewer weeks," she said.

A batch of seniors connected P.E.I. are getting older and necessitate this benignant of help, McLaughlin said, adding: "We request restorative care, whether it's present oregon whether it's a caller gathering connected its own." 

Prince County Hospital successful Summerside has a 10-bed restorative attraction unit, but advocates similar McLaughlin would similar to spot more. 

Restorative attraction 'absolutely' provides value: Health P.E.I.

While Health P.E.I. doesn't person a near-term program to enactment restorative attraction beds backmost successful Prince Edward Home, it does person a longer-term thought for improving entree to restorative attraction connected the Island, said Andrew MacDougall, enforcement manager of assemblage wellness and seniors care. 

The provincial wellness bureau is moving connected processing a community-care exemplary for restorative attraction that would supply patients with attraction wrong their homes, MacDougall said. 

Various factors were progressive successful removing the restorative attraction beds from Prince Edward Home, but diligent outcomes were ne'er successful question, MacDougall said. 

"It surely wasn't astir whether the restorative attraction work provided payment oregon value. It perfectly did," helium said. 

"But erstwhile it comes to looking astatine the request to hole the strategy for imaginable surges… the determination was made to person those beds and person the household of Prince Edward Home from restorative attraction services to dementia care." 

Hospital settings tin beryllium pugnacious for radical with dementia, MacDougall said, adding that determination tin beryllium much important adverse implications associated with their infirmary stays. 

In the future, MacDougall said helium wants to enactment connected a "win-win" concern for improving entree to some dementia and restorative care. 

"We request much dementia attraction services, truthful we're continuing to physique connected that. But we request to grow restorative care, and we're going to effort and bash it successful the location setting," helium said. 

The details of community-based restorative attraction are inactive being worked out, but the extremity is to merchandise a program implicit the adjacent year, MacDougall said.