BY SURJIT SINGH FLORA
160 new long-term care spaces will arrive in Brampton in the near future, as the province rolled out plans last week to bolster the city’s LTC sector. The province said Thursday that a new centre, along with a previously-announced project unveiled earlier this month, will bring 352 new long-term care facilities in Brampton — part of a ten-year commitment to create 30,000 such long-term care spaces in the province.
These projects will include the Guru Nanak Long Term Care Centre, which will have 160 new spaces and will provide services to aging members of the Punjabi and Sikh communities in addition, 192 new LTC spaces will be created under Indus Community Services in a new site, located near the Flower City Community Campus. The project will be part of the “Campus of Care” vision planned for the site, and will provide LTC services to South Asian communities.
The projects are aimed at helping reduce long wait lists and eliminate the trend of hallway medicine. At the provincial level, the investment includes other government priorities, including the elimination of three- and four-bed ward rooms, the creation of a campus of care, and the provision of new spaces for Indigenous, French speaking and other cultural community residents.
Brampton South MPP and Small Business and Red Tape Reduction Minister Prabhmeet Sarkaria said Friday that the number of long-term care recipients in Brampton is likely to increase over the next decade, noting that the establishment of the two projects is meant to “ensure that Brampton has safe and modern spaces for our seniors.” Brampton West MPP Amarjot Sandhu said he was “very excited” about the announcement.
He said that overcoming long term care problems has been a priority of our government from day one. “We are happy that our government is helping our community and Guru Nanak Long Term Care Center and Indus Long Term Care Home in Brampton is opening.” Meanwhile, Gurpreet Malhotra from Indus Community Centre told Asia Metro that they have been struggling for the last five years to set up such a long-term care centre — and after five years of hard work, the province has stepped up support.
“This is a big project for us, and we are going to launch a fund-raising campaign,” Malhotra said. On the other hand, two acres of land in the Fernforest and Sandalwood Parkway area are earmarked for the Guru Nanak Long Term Care Centre, which has will be managed by Sikh Sangat Gurdwara Sahib and Guru Nanak Center Glidden Road Gurdwara Sahib.
A joint youth committee was also established, led by city councillor Harkirat Singh and contributed to by various professional groups in the city Talking to Peel Weekly News yesterday, Singh said that it is a “matter of pride for the community and professional boys and girls that have joined supported us for this purpose, and a team has also been set up.”
An outline of what the building will look like in the future will be prepared and presented to the community. Meanwhile, MP Ruby Sahota and former minister Harinder Malhi also wrote to show their support to these two projects. Various Gurdwaras and institutions also contributed to the achievement of this goal.
