N.B. health minister says ‘no’ to Saint John hospital equipment purchase

WATCH: The Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation has raised the money for a new DNA sequencing machine, but according to the health minister, there are already four pieces of the same machinery in Moncton. Laura Brown reports.

FREDERICTON – The province’s health minister is saying ‘no’ to an almost $1 million hospital equipment purchase in Saint John and it doesn’t look like he’s changing his mind.

The Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation has raised $900,000 over the past year to purchase genetic sequencing equipment.

But they were told in March by health minister Victor Boudreau, they couldn’t go ahead with the purchase.

“We already have over five times the necessary capacity for our province,” Boudreau said.

He’s referring to the machines owned by the Atlantic Cancer Research Institute in Moncton. The Institute has four of the machines and Boudreau doesn’t believe New Brunswick needs any more.

“The idea of creating a second centre that can do these tests just makes no sense when you look at other provinces,” he said. “The only provinces that have two of these centres are Ontario and Quebec.”

According to Boudreau, the Saint John Regional Hospital is completing these tests by sending DNA samples to the Mayo Clinic in Boston.

He said he’d like to look into why they’re sending them outside the country when they could be sent to Moncton.

In a statement, the hospital’s foundation said they have an obligation to their donors and they’re determined to work this out.

“We are confident that our support of the personalized medicine program at the Saint John Regional Hospital is necessary, cost-efficient, and in the best health care interest of New Brunswickers, as advised by lead clinical care experts in this province,” the statement read.

Former health minister Ted Flemming signed off on this centre and said it was on the hospital’s prioritized list of capital needs.

When Flemming received the list, it had already been scrutinized by several boards.

Flemming also said Moncton’s machines are not accredited for patient treatment, only for research.

“People who accredit laboratories for work, for quality control and consistency of results will not accredit a research facility for clinical work,” he said.

Boudreau has met with the foundation but says unless there’s more reasons why Saint John needs the centre, his answer remains ‘no’.