As New Brunswick prepares its public consultations on health care in the province an independent organization says their studies have found that life expectancy in the province has declined as has the quality of care in regions.
The New Brunswick Health Council (NBHC) says they published the articles in order to better help New Brunswickers understand the state of the province.
“New Brunswickers will be sharing their needs and concerns regarding health care,” said Stéphane Robichaud, CEO of the NBHC.
“Understanding that we have experienced declining life expectancy and inequities in health service delivery across the province will help them to decide their health-care priorities.”
The reports draw on the organization’s own data that it has compiled through surveys as well as external data from the Canadian Institute of Health Information.
Life expectancy in decline
The first report issued by the NBHC looked at life expectancy in the province. New Brunswickers have always had slightly shorter life spans than the average Canadian citizen.
In 2012, New Brunswickers were expected to live to 81 years old, while the Canadian average was three months shy of 82.
But the analysis from NBHC has found that since 2013 life expectancy of New Brunswickers has declined in comparison to the average Canadian, whose life expectancy climbed during the same period.
A Canadian born between 2017 and 2019 was, on average expected to live 82 years — a full 16 months longer than the average person in New Brunswick.
The NBHC says that potentially avoidable deaths are a major contributor to trends in New Brunswick.
Examples of avoidable deaths are transport accidents or certain cancers.
Although the avoidable deaths appear to be on the decline across Canada due to improvements in immunization, medications for cholesterol and blood pressure or lower rates of smoking — New Brunswick has actually been trending in the opposite direction.
Since 2013, more New Brunswickers are dying before the age of 75 due to potentially avoidable causes, the NBHC said.
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Five of the top 10 causes of avoidable deaths in New Brunswick are almost completely avoidable. Breast cancer and colorectal cancer are both considered a treatable cause of death, while diabetes, stroke and heart disease are influenced by prevention and treatment.
One of the best ways to reduce instances of avoidable death, the article states, is through the improvement of primary health care while also addressing barriers to preventive services such as screening, tests and medication.
Differences in service across the province
The second article released by the province highlights the inequities in service through family doctors across New Brunswick.
In 2017, 56 per cent of New Brunswickers reported being able to get an appointment within five days with their family doctor.
Although that figure is low, the NBHC stresses that it is only an average and that it doesn’t accurately convey differences across the province.
“Only local numbers really allow us to appreciate how the quality of health services varies across the province and how some communities fare better or worse than others,” the report reads.
For instance, 75 per cent of citizens in the Perth-Andover area reported being able to get an appointment with their family doctor in five days, but in the Kegwick area, only 19 residents reported they could do the same.
Even after New Brunswickers receive health service, the way the service is delivered, whether it is effective and appropriate can be different in regions across the province, the NBHC says.
The organization’s survey in 2018 found that 76 per cent of residents sampled in the Oromocto area found their family doctor gave them enough time to discuss their feelings, fears and concerns while only 53 per cent of people in the Neguac area reported feeling the same way.
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The NBHC says it is calling for the health system to be more equitable and for every citizen, regardless of where they live, to be able to receive a consistent level of health services.
“Shorter lives due to potentially avoidable death and inequities in health services should concern all New Brunswickers,” said Robichaud. “We were excited to make publicly available this content, a deliverable from our current business plan. We feel this work is a positive contribution to the Provincial Health Plan consultation.”
New Brunswick Health Minister Dorothy Shephard told Global News at the end of January that consultations on the province’s health-care system should be coming in the next few weeks.
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