Many New Brunswickers have been added to the wait-list for a primary health-care provider after two nurse practitioners resigned.
On Friday, Horizon Health Network confirmed departures at the St. Joseph’s Community Health Centre in Saint John left about 1,000 patients without a primary care provider.
Another 60 patients have been reassigned to a nurse practitioner in Sussex, N.B.
Patients who were impacted reported receiving a note to inform them of the departures.
“While we are actively recruiting and hope to fill these positions as quickly as possible, impacted patients may choose to register with Patient Connect NB,” Susan Neal, the regional director of primary care for the Saint John area with Horizon Health Network, said in a statement.
“Horizon is continuing to prioritize the recruitment and retention of Nurse Practitioners as a means of enhancing primary care options for the patients we serve, and these efforts remain ongoing.”
Among those being shuffled to the back of a long waiting line for a new primary care provider is Don Darling, the former mayor of Saint John.
“For two reasons this week, when I received the letter, (I felt) disappointment, and I guess a bit of angst or worry, because you say, ‘Well, what are you going to do next?’ and second because I’m dealing with health issues that I think are related to COVID I caught back in June,” he told Global News in an interview.
In August, Global News reported the number of patients on the Patient Connect List had grown to more than 74,000.
However, Department of Health spokesperson Adam Bowie told Global News Friday that since the launch of the NB Health Link project, wait-list numbers have proven to be inaccurate.
In the Moncton area alone, Bowie said, when contacted, 4,400 individuals told staff they had already found a provider.
For Darling, who’s in his early 50s, it’s not the first time he’s needed a new primary care provider.
“I actually lost my family doctor in 2012 and went for a number of years without a doctor, so I would use clinics or use the ER,” Darling noted, adding it’s not an ideal way to live.
When asked whether he expected the province’s health-care system to be in the same scenario a decade later, Darling argued that is actually not the case.
“I’d argue we’re not in a similar position, we’re in a worse position.”
Darling pointed to the growing number of patients who need a primary care provider. He noted that the province needs fixes at a time when population growth is rising exponentially.
“I think it is irresponsible to continue to invite people to move here when we’re not sustainable as it is today.”
Darling added there remains a need for growth in New Brunswick, though there needs to be an acceleration in solutions.
— with files from Nathalie Sturgeon.
Comments