AHS closes hospital palliative wing
About 55 staff members to be affected, while a savings of $5.5M a year is expected
Ward Six West, which includes palliative care at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital will be permanently closed, affecting about 55 employees, Alberta Health Services confirmed Wednesday.
The decision has been made to make better use of resources, and because most people requiring palliative care prefer to be in a hospice or in their own home rather than a hospital, said Katherine Chubbs, chief zone officer for AHS south zone.
A total of 55 staff members have been affected by the decision, said Chubbs, who expects alternative employment options to be available for about 80 per cent. Some will be able to continue working at the hospital and others in the community.
The closure is expected to save about $5.5 million a year, said Chubbs, who says that will be reinvested in health care.
There are 12 palliative care beds at the MHRH but they have not all been in use.
“The occupancy is around 50 per cent,” said Chubbs.
Carmel Hospice, which has 10 palliative care beds, is usually at an occupancy rate of 40 to 50 per cent, she explained.
By closing the hospital palliative care, Carmel Hospice will be utilized more.
“So if we combine both we actually have a well used unit,” said Chubbs.
Additional resources will also be “infused” to provide care “closer to home,” said Chubbs.
The plan is to enhance resources to patients requiring palliative care in their own home. There will also be enhanced resources at Carmel Hospice such as more registered nurses and occupational therapists, said Chubbs. The option of additional services at home is expected to reduce the total number of palliative care patients seeking ”institutional” care in Medicine Hat.
“There may be rare circumstances where a patient at end of life is actually requiring care that only can be provided in a hospital and we will still accommodate that,” said Chubbs. “It just won’t be on one set unit. That’s the model generally across the country and certainly across the province.”
Details of the enhanced services that will become available for those having palliative care at home were not immediately available on Wednesday, said Chubbs.
“I can tell you we are going to have more resources in our community to provide home-care support in the community,” said Chubbs.
Other hospital beds in Six West have been occupied primarily by seniors waiting for placement in the community and have often been called “alternative level of care” beds.
About the time the building of the new Masterpiece seniors’ residence was announced there were a number of ALC beds occupied. Masterpiece is now almost ready to accept new residents.
Plans for the closure of Six West have been in the works for about a month as details of when ALC patients would be able to move into the new Masterpiece seniors’ residence became apparent, said Chubbs.
“So we had some temporary funding to bridge us to the opening of the Masterpiece,” said Chubbs. “Now Masterpiece is opening the time is here I guess.”
The number of ALC beds occupied in the hospital usually sits around 45 or 50, said Chubbs. Over the next two months Masterpiece, which can take 60 to 70, will be accepting those waiting for placement, said Chubbs.
AHS will be focusing more on whether patients in the hospital in general would be better served in the community thereby reducing the level of demand for hospital beds, she explained.