SASKATOON — Barb Sambasivam has seen Saskatchewan’s long-term care system from two deeply personal sides: as the sister of a man whose needs have grown more complex, and as the mother of an adult son who also requires lifelong care.
Sambasivam is the only family member left to care for her younger brother James, while also raising an adult son, Rupan, both of whom have disabilities and need long-term care. Her brother has had myotonic dystrophy his entire life, while her son was born with cerebral palsy.
Her brother’s and son’s conditions gave her firsthand experience of the province’s long-term care system, where she praised the compassion and dedication of staff. She said demand for long-term care facilities will increase as the province ages and more people have complex needs.
“He's my brother, I'm the oldest in the family, and he's the youngest. We've already lost a sister to this disease and our mother. So, it's a very serious condition, and I want my brother to have the best life he can with the time he's got left,” said Sambasivam.
“I'm the trustee for my brother, so all of the questions or things that go on in the care home come to me. I fulfill whatever he asked me to do. I take him to all of his doctor's appointments, but he needs access to transit. I can’t transport him anymore.”
Sambasivam joined associate shadow health minister and shadow minister for seniors Keith Jorgenson and Saskatoon Chief Mistawasis MLA Don McBean in a media event Monday, July 6, outside Preston Special Care Home.
She added that she used to drive her brother but could no longer do so because she also needs to take care of her son at home, which usually takes up most of her time. Still, she tries to do the best that she can to tend to her brother’s needs and attend to her son.
She said her brother’s progressive condition worsened as he aged, and he has lived in a private care home where staff have done a good job of taking care of him, such as keeping him company during breakfast and sometimes eating lunch with him.
“I am not able to do that every time, and it's hard on my brother. I'm pretty much the last family he has left. It's very difficult, and sometimes you don't know what to do. But I really have to hand it to the care home staff that he is in, since they have given him good care, and they're friendly,” said Sambasivam.
However, after a fall one evening, a caregiver was unable to lift him back up and called an ambulance for assistance. Her brother was taken to St. Paul's Hospital, spending a few days there, where his journey through the health-care system began.
She said James spent several days in emergency before staff at his care home, as his mobility declined, determined they could no longer safely meet his needs, with the facility lacking the services required to better care for him.
He was then transferred to City Hospital while waiting for a permanent long-term care placement, and this is where she witnessed patients lined up on both sides of the hallway, either in wheelchairs or beds, waiting for care, scenes that left a lasting impression.
Her brother was eventually placed in what she described as a small storage room because of limited space. She stressed the overcrowding was not the fault of hospital staff, but rather a symptom of a health-care system under pressure.
And she believes longer wait times will also be expected due to space shortages, citing her brother as an example. It took the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s placement team six weeks to find a long-term care bed, and she praised the staff for their efforts despite working with limited resources.
However, she noted that beds in long-term care facilities often become available only when another resident leaves or dies. Once admitted, she said her brother found a welcoming environment with recreation programs, good food and staff who treat him with kindness.
“He [James] pretty much used a wheelchair. At that point, he was still able to use his walker, but it wasn't safe, and they probably shouldn't have let him. They should have been beside him when he was walking with his walker, and that’s how he used the washroom,” said Sambasivam.
Government neglect
Jorgenson said the Opposition obtained data through freedom of information that showed the number of long-term care facilities and long-term care beds has declined since the Saskatchewan Party formed government in 2007.
He said Saskatchewan had 181 long-term care facilities with 8,944 beds in 2007, but as of 2025, the number of facilities has dropped to 161, and the number of available long-term care beds has fallen to 8,823. Statistics Canada data show that seniors are among the province’s fastest-growing demographics.
In 2007, residents aged 65 and older made up roughly 14.9 per cent of the population. By 2025, that number has risen to 17.9 per cent, and Statistics Canada projects that Saskatchewan’s senior population will climb to 23 per cent by 2038.
“When patients aren’t being moved from hospitals into long-term care, costs per visit are going to rise inevitably. The continued decline in long-term care facilities and beds will continue to drive costs in our healthcare system,” said Jorgenson.
McBean added that everyone knows long-term care facilities are understaffed and that standards need to be improved, while more beds are also needed. He said the demand for resources and other support for long-term care services must be addressed.
“Even though Saskatchewan’s population is rapidly aging and the need for long-term care beds is already urgent, this government is asleep at the wheel when it comes to caring for our seniors,” said McBean.
SaskToday reached out to the government for comment, but it had yet to respond as of the time of publication.
