Regina man's long-term care rent won't double after 'clerical error' discovered

A Regina man in long-term care is no longer facing the dramatic rent increase he had feared, after the provincial government says a mistake was made when Gerald Ennis was sent his most recent bill.

• Regina man facing 150% rent increase in long-term care

The documents he received this weeksaid his rent at Wascana Rehabilitation was going up from the minimum amount of just under $1,100 per month to the maximum of nearly $2,700.

The government did raise long-term care fees in its spring budget, but it said no one client should be facing a 150 per cent increase.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the provincial governmentsaida clerical error had been made and Ennis is facing a rent hike of just over $700 per month at $1,791.

The province saidthere was missing paperwork about Ennis's income which has now been received and the family has been told of the change.

It says this case was a one-off and not a systemic clerical problem but Ennis's daughter, Nicole Dobson, is not convinced.

Dobson says while the family is grateful for the expediency of the government's response to the fee hike, they still have concerns.

She saysher father has been waiting eight months for an electric wheelchair and is not as mobile as he once was, fearing he'll fall without proper help from staff.

Dobson encourages other families facing similar issues in long-term careto speak out.