Nova Scotia revises long-term care expansion adding another 2,200 rooms by 2032 – Halifax | Globalnews.ca

The Nova Scotia government is adding or replacing 2,200 rooms to the province’s long-term care network by 2032 to meet the demands of an aging population.

Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Barbara Adams says the new rooms are in addition to the 3,500 rooms announced in January that are expected to open by 2027.

Adams says today’s announcement includes 800 new, single long-term care rooms and 1,400 existing rooms that will be either upgraded or replaced.

The minister says work is to begin this fall on the newly announced rooms, with 336 slated for three new nursing homes in the Halifax area.

Adams says that increasing capacity in long-term care will reduce the pressure on hospitals and emergency rooms in a province where 21.8 per cent of people are 65 years of age or older.

The province says about 1,700 people are on a wait list for a long-term care bed, including about 300 people in hospital.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2023.