Yellowknife — March 11, 2021
The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has released updated long term care bed projections for the Northwest Territories.
Today in the Legislative Assembly, the Minister of Health and Social Services tabled, Projected Demand for Long Term Care Beds in the NWT and the Department’s Response to Long Term Care Bed Projections.
These reports represent a shift in the total number of long term care bed needed inthe Northwest Territories. The new projections will help better use of GNWT resources to meet the needs of seniors who require specialized care in the years to come.
With the reports now released, staff from the Department of Health and Social Services (HSS), with support from the NWT Bureau of Statistics, will engage with communities and leaders to confirm capital plans, and how HSS will meet the needs of seniors to remain in their communities as long as possible through improvements to home care.
These engagements will be both virtual and in person where possible and will start as soon as possible.
Quote
“The GNWT is confident in the information gathered to date, but also remains committed to engaging with stakeholders and community leaders to determine the best approach to providing long term care needs to our seniors.”
- Julie Green, Minister of Health and Social Services
Quick facts
- Current projections confirm an additional 169 Long Term Care beds will be required by 2034. This is a reduction from the 2015 bed projections that identified the need for 435 beds in this same time frame.
- The most recent modelling used for the updated projections by the NWT Bureau of Statistics is based on 10 years of NWT LTC data and aligns with the best practices in establishing the evidence-based demand for care.
- Previous projections used a ratio-based model, as there was limited Long Term Care data at the time.
Related links
- Projected Demand for Long Term Care Beds in the NWT
- Response to Long Term Care Bed Projections
- Health and Social Services Seniors Publications
Media Requests, please contact:
Damien Healy
Manager of Communications
Department of Health and Social Services
Government of the Northwest Territories
(867) 767-9052 ext. 49034
