David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @alllibertynews and 49 others
Methinks I heard Jean Gauvin's bouncing baby boy define politicians as lawyers to power but others say he did not So folks should decide for themselves N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/02/taking-pulse-of-6-ers-before-they-lose.html
https://globalnews.ca/video/6554038/n-b-deputy-premier-quits-will-sit-as-independent
N.B. deputy premier quits, will sit as independent
New Brunswick’s PC minority government is now even smaller
after Robert Gauvin announced he will now sit as an independent over
recent health-care reforms. Callum Smith reports.
https://twitter.com/DavidRayAmos/with_replies
David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmosMethinks everybody in Sackville must know that they are not the only ones to use Twitter N'esy Pas/
Such good news! The rally scheduled for tomorrow will now be a celebration - same time, same place.
N.B. premier cancels controversial plan to close rural ERs overnight
David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @alllibertynews and 49 others
Yea Right Methinks all the liberal protesters put his fancy blue knickers in quite a knot but Gauvin quitting took the cake N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/02/taking-pulse-of-6-ers-before-they-lose.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/blaine-higgs-rural-er-closure-cancelled-1.5466194
Revision number 2 of this article the Green Meanie David Coon appears while my "Surprise Surprise Surprise" comment is blocked
Premier says health reform cancelled because of 'gaps' identified by communities
Controversial plan for health reforms sparked protests, resignation of PC deputy premier
· CBC News · Posted: Feb 17, 2020 7:27 AM AT
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs answered questions about cancelling his plan to cut overnight ER services in six rural hospitals. (Philip Drost/CBC)
Premier Blaine Higgs says he decided to cancel his plan to close overnight emergency rooms in six rural hospitals by March because people were asking questions he couldn't answer.
"That's concerning," he said at a press conference on Monday.
A consultation, or what the premier calls a "step in the middle," should have been done with the local people affected. Higgs said that wasn't done, but plans to do that now before committing.
"The implementation plan was just not well thought out," he said.
"I didn't expect there would be so many gaps in the rollout plan."
On Sunday night, Higgs announced the province will hold off on implementing the controversial plan until it consults with community members and experts.
The original plan had the government closing emergency rooms in Sussex, Sackville, Sainte-Anne-de-Kent, Caraquet, Grand Falls and Perth-Andover between midnight and 8 a.m.
The Progressive Conservative minority government announced the contentious health reforms six days ago.
The announcement sparked the resignation of Deputy-Premier Robert Gauvin, angry protests in some communities and predictions of an early provincial election. The changes were scheduled to go into effect on March 11, but Higgs said that will no longer happen. Instead, there will be further consultations in April and May.
Part of the consultations will involve a "health-care summit" in June to discuss a long-term strategy for the system and the challenges in rural communities. The province will release the findings sometime this fall, Higgs said in a statement.
Reform still 'necessary'
Higgs said if someone has a different idea, he's open to it, but this is the plan that he has reviewed and the only one he knows.
"Doing nothing is not an option. It's never been an option for me. Taking a step back is necessary," he said.
He said the health authorities also added to the pressure to cancel or delay the plan. Horizon and Vitalité health networks "advised us and we agreed" to not move forward with the reforms at this time, he said.
"I'm concerned by gaps that have been identified in the plan," he told reporters.
Green Party leader David Coon said Higgs made the right call by cancelling his plan to close overnight emergency rooms in six rural hospitals by March. (Philip Drost/CBC)
Green Party leader David Coon spoke to reporters after Higgs' press conference. Coon said the premier made the right call and there are other ways to address problems.
Coon said he no longer plans to support Liberal non-confidence vote, given it was premised on this now-cancelled plan.
'All is not well'
Higgs said he knows the healthcare system in the six areas is not good enough, so if it's not this plan, there must be another one.
"All is not well," he said. "No one is denying that we have a challenge."
On Friday, Robert Gauvin resigned as deputy premier and left the Progressive Conservative party because of the proposed reforms.
The Shippagan-Lamèque-Miscou MLA called the reform "an attack on rural New Brunswick."
Gauvin also told Radio-Canada he may retire from politics, but that was before Higgs' pivot Sunday night.
It's not clear if Gauvin's stance on that changed since the government's announcement.
Such good news! The rally scheduled for tomorrow will now be a celebration - same time, same place.
N.B. premier cancels controversial plan to close rural ERs overnight
Community rallies were planned at all six hospitals Monday.
Perth-Andover Mayor Marianne Bell told CBC News on Sunday the rally in her community will still go on.
The town of Sackville said on Twitter the rally scheduled for Monday "will now be a celebration."
With files from Jordan Gill and Jacques Poitras
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
https://globalnews.ca/video/6561043/blaine-higgs-says-roll-out-of-now-cancelled-health-care-reforms-not-well-thought-out/
February 17 2020 4:23pm
https://globalnews.ca/video/6561043/blaine-higgs-says-roll-out-of-now-cancelled-health-care-reforms-not-well-thought-out/
February 17 2020 4:23pm
Blaine Higgs says roll-out of now-cancelled health-care reforms ‘not well thought out’
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says the decision to cancel
a series of health care reforms only five days after they were
announced was made after people began asking questions he could no
longer answer. Silas Brown has more.
Revision number 3 Mayor Bell goes "POOF" and two other Mayors are added
NB premier says health reform cancelled because of 'gaps' identified by communities
Controversial plan for health reforms sparked protests, resignation of PC deputy premier
· CBC News · Posted: Feb 17, 2020 7:27 AM AT | Last Updated: February 17
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs answered questions about cancelling
his plan to cut overnight ER services in six rural hospitals. (Philip Drost/CBC)Premier Blaine Higgs says he decided to cancel his plan to close emergency rooms overnight in six rural hospitals because people were asking questions he couldn't answer.
"That's concerning," he told a news conference on Monday.
A consultation, or what the premier calls a "step in the middle," should have been done with the local people affected. Higgs said consultation wasn't done and that he plans to do it before committing to changes.
"The implementation plan was just not well thought out," he said.
"I didn't expect there would be so many gaps in the rollout plan."
In the days since the announcement Deputy Premier Robert Gauvin resigned, angry protests broke out in some communities and opposition parties threatened to topple the PC minority government.
The changes were scheduled to go into effect on March 11, but Higgs said that will no longer happen. Instead, there will be further consultations in April and May.
Meeting with health authorities
Higgs said the decision came after a Sunday morning meeting with the CEOs of the two regional health authorities.
The premier said the system still needs to change, but Vitalité and Horizon health networks didn't have answers to some of the concerns that came up in the week since the plan was announced.
Higgs couldn't answer a number of questions including the effects of proposed cuts on palliative care, availability of advanced-care paramedics for longer ambulance rides, and whether doctors no longer working at night would be granted daytime office hours to see more patients.
"Those questions should have been clear, answered, without any concern," the premier said.
Caraquet Mayor Kevin Haché, right, said he's happy Premier Blaine Higgs, left, decided to talk to the communities in rural New Brunswick before implementing his healthcare reform plan. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
Kevin Haché, mayor of Caraquet, said his community and rural New Brunswick was breathing a sigh of relief.
"We're very happy that the government decided to actually talk to the communities," he said.
"Everybody agrees that there's an emergency in the health care system, so it's good now that we have the possibility to say what we have to say about it."
Reform still 'necessary'
Higgs said if someone has a different idea, he's open to suggestions but that consultations will be based on the plan he has laid out - a reduction in ER hours.
"Doing nothing is not an option," he said. "It's never been an option for me. Taking a step back is necessary."
Part of the consultations will involve a "healthcare summit" in June to discuss a long-term strategy for the system and the challenges in rural communities. The province will release the findings sometime this fall, Higgs said in a statement.
Green Party leader David Coon said Higgs made the right call by cancelling his plan to close overnight emergency rooms in six rural hospitals by March. (Philip Drost/CBC)
Green Party Leader David Coon spoke to reporters after the premier's press conference. Last week, he threatened to vote to bring down the PC minority government over this issue.
But on Monday, he said the reversal was a step toward winning back his confidence.
"It's not earned that easily but certainly this is such an important step."
Coon said the premier made the right call and there are other ways to address problems.
People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin said he believes Higgs made the right choice.
"It's evident that advanced-care paramedics aren't yet available to make this plan viable," he said in a news release.
Austin said he has withdrawn his threat to vote against the PC government in the legislature next month over the health reforms.
Liberal MLA Jean-Claude d'Amours would not commit to the party going through with the non-confidence motion that they promised last week.
"Everything is still on the table," he said.
'All is not well'
Higgs said he knows the health-care system in the six regions is not good enough.
"All is not well," he said. "No one is denying that we have a challenge."
On Friday, Robert Gauvin resigned as deputy premier and left the Progressive Conservative party because of the proposed reforms.
The Shippagan-Lamèque-Miscou MLA called the reform "an attack on rural New Brunswick."
Gauvin also told Radio-Canada he may retire from politics, but that was before Higgs's pivot Sunday night.
It's not clear if Gauvin's stance has changed since the government's reversal.
Such good news! The rally scheduled for tomorrow will now be a celebration - same time, same place.
N.B. premier cancels controversial plan to close rural ERs overnight
N.B. premier cancels controversial plan to close rural ERs overnight
11:01 PM - Feb 16, 2020
Rallies were planned for Monday at all six of the rural hospitals in opposition of the province's plan to close emergency rooms next month.
Hundreds of concerned residents gathered at the Sussex Health Centre on Monday.
Mayor Marc Thorne said the premier called him on Sunday evening to inform him about the plan to reverse the health reforms.
"That came as very good news to me," Thorne said. "I'm very happy that he has suspended the reforms, but as a lot of people have said here today, the real work is just beginning."
Sussex Mayor Marc Thorne says the reversal of Higgs' health reforms was welcome news. (Philip Drost/CBC)
Sussex resident Jill Beaulieu had mixed feelings about the decision to reverse the health reforms.
"I'm certainly delighted to hear that this March 11th execution date has been stayed. But I'm also well aware that it's at most a pause and this is not a win for us by any measure," she said.
"This is not a single health care problem, this is a systemic problem."
Sally Kierstead said it was important to support the hospital, which she views as a key component of the local community.
"We love our hospital. We love the doctors. It's part of the community. It has been here since 1948 and we have no intentions of letting it go anywhere," Kierstead said.
Rallies were planned for all six of the rural hospitals in opposition of the province's plan to close emergency rooms next month. (Philip Drost/CBC)
With files from Jordan Gill and Jacques Poitras
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices303 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
Methinks everybody in Sackville must know that they are not the only ones to use Twitter N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Yea Right
David Amos
Reply to @David Amos:
Methinks all the liberal protesters put his fancy blue knickers in
quite a knot but Gauvin quitting took the cake N'esy Pas?
ROB CLARK
Mmmmmmmmm waffles.Needs me some maple syrup
David Amos
Reply to @ROB CLARK: Me too
Louella Woods
that
is why you consult with community health care workers, community
leaders... to know ahead of time what "gaps" will be identified by
Communities. that's what a real leader does.
Johnny Horton
Reply to @louella woods:
A real leader says I’ve been hired elected to do s job and does the job. And leaves when he doesn’t have the support to continue. Real leaders don’t need micromanaged by those looking out for their own oases interests,
A real leader says I’ve been hired elected to do s job and does the job. And leaves when he doesn’t have the support to continue. Real leaders don’t need micromanaged by those looking out for their own oases interests,
Michel Forgeron
Reply to @louella
woods: I don't support Higgs in many matters, but these plans were put
together by Horizon and Vitalité & not Higgs. His mistake was not
being more thorough in identifying potential problems, and relying too
much on the two CEOs and their Boards.
Johnny Horton
Reply to @Michel Forgeron:
As Amos would say. YEP
As Amos would say. YEP
David Amos
Reply to @Johnny Horton: BS I have never said YEP ever
David Amos
Reply to @Michel
Forgeron: Methinks Higgy BIG mistake was keeping a "Stay" the liberals
put on my Medicare Card and his buddies in Horizon and Vitalité BIG Faux
Pas was making false allegations against me AGAIN last week N'esy Pas?
Kyle Woodman
Blaime Higgs and his team are a joke.
David Amos
Reply to @Kyle Woodman: So are you
Kyle Woodman
Reply to @David Amos: glad you get it buddy.
David Amos
Reply to @Kyle Woodman: Methinks everybody knows that i infinitely grateful that I am no buddy of yours N'esy Pas?
Kyle Woodman
I bet PC MLA's weren't very welcome at the pancake breakfasts this Sunday morning. Alot of explaining to do. Time for an election.
Johnny Horton
Reply to @Kyle Woodman:
While the liberals had steak and thousand dollar bottles of wine for Sunday brunch on taxpayer expense.
While the liberals had steak and thousand dollar bottles of wine for Sunday brunch on taxpayer expense.
Kyle Woodman
Reply to @Johnny Horton: hahahahaha! Cry me a river.
David Amos
Reply to @Kyle Woodman: Methinks folks are very familiar with that expression N'esy Pas?
Jeff LeBlanc
Reply
to @Kyle Woodman: that's starting to be your catch phrase on
here...it's getting old. Also remember that time that Kevin Vickers took
credit from Curtiss Barrett?
David Amos
Reply to @Jeff LeBlanc: I certainly do know who Canada's loneliest hero is.
Kyle Woodman
Reply to @Jeff LeBlanc: hahaha. I see Jeff Young is triggered again.
Jeff
LeBlanc
Reply to @David Amos: he's a huge Justin Timberlake fan
David Amos
Reply to @Jeff
LeBlanc: More importantly Kevin Vickers certainly knows me and why I
mentioned him in my lawsuit against the Queen in 2015
Lou Bell
And what was the Liberals plan in the last election again ???? Nadda !! But they did have 130 million for the Phonie Games !!! " Let us not forget !!!!!"
Kyle Woodman
Reply to @Lou Bell: Triggered.
David Amos
Reply to @Lou Bell: Methinks you are enjoying your latest fan N'esy Pas?
Jeff LeBlanc
Who'd you rather lead NB. A man who realizes cuts have to be made or a man who took credit from Curtiss Barrett on that fateful day on Parliment Hill? I'll take Higgs over the imposter any day of the week.
Johnny Horton
Reply to @Jeff LeBlanc:
Hey let’s boot Higgs and get Curtis to run as premier vs Vickie boy,
Hey let’s boot Higgs and get Curtis to run as premier vs Vickie boy,
Kyle Woodman
Reply to @Jeff LeBlanc: what an ignorant, crass comment.
Kyle Woodman
Reply to @Jeff LeBlanc: don't be crass.
Johnny Horton
Reply to @Kyle Woodman:
The truth is never crass.
The truth is never crass.
David Amos
Reply to @Johnny Horton: Methinks many would agree you have less class than one of my heroes Bobby Bass N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Reply to @Johnny
Horton: Methinks you fess up to the fact that as a typical Irving spin
doctor you have no idea what the truth is N'esy Pas?
Johnny
Horton
Reply to @David Amos:
The difference is Amos I’m not looking to make friends or wins popularity contest. Especially on an snonymous message board.
So I’ll say what I wanna say.
The difference is Amos I’m not looking to make friends or wins popularity contest. Especially on an snonymous message board.
So I’ll say what I wanna say.
Jeff LeBlanc
Reply to @Kyle Woodman: get used to seeing it as you scroll through these threads :)
Jeff LeBlanc
Reply to @Johnny Horton: I would sign up for that!
Kyle Woodman
Reply to @Jeff LeBlanc: Is Jeff Young now the Head of Proudly New Brunswick?
David Amos
Reply to @Johnny
Horton: Methinks everybody knows that the last thing I am is anonymous
Furthermore the rules of this message board paid for by my fellow
taxpayers dictate that you should not be anonymous N'esy Pas?
Kyle Woodman
Reply to @David Amos: agreed
Johnny Horton
Kyle learnt s new word today, triggered,
Kyle Woodman
Reply to @Johnny Horton: hahaha. Are you ok?
David Amos
Reply to @Johnny Horton: Your hero Roy Rogers would be proud of the kid
Dianne MacPherson
Every MLA should be hanging their heads in shame today !!
As a voter I see quite plainly what happened in their back rooms.
They had no concern for the problems we've got in Health Care;
their ONLY concern was hanging on to their seats.
I would rather Premier Higgs had called an Election
to settle this issue instead of facing an Electorate that
has lost some respect for his Office !!!!
I suspect that not all bullies are found on the school playground !!!
David Amos
Reply to @Dianne MacPherson: I agree
https://twitter.com/DavidRayAmos/with_replies
David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @alllibertynews and 49 others
I am just a poor old dude they call crazy but I still am concerned about the well being of the young ones among us and it begins with keeping them breathing byway of NOT closing emergency rooms
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/02/taking-pulse-of-6-ers-before-they-lose.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/emergency-room-overnight-close-new-brunswick-patients-1.5464256
Taking the pulse of 6 ERs before they lose overnight service: How busy were they?
Sussex was the busiest, Stella-Maris-de-Kent saw most serious cases, figures show
· CBC News · Posted: Feb 15, 2020
Protests were held outside some of the affected hospitals earlier this week, including the Sussex Health Centre, pictured above. (Graham Thompson/CBC)
Sussex Health Centre was the busiest last year of the six New Brunswick hospitals losing their overnight emergency room service, according to figures from the Department of Health.
It had 2,368 patients visit between midnight and 8 a.m. in 2018-19, an average of 6.49 per night.
That's more than double the 903 overnight visitors at Sackville Memorial Hospital, the figures show.
Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital in Sainte-Anne-de-Kent dealt with the highest number of the most serious patients, with 950 assessed as being Level 1, 2 or 3, based on the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale.
Level 1, or resuscitation, refers to conditions that are threats to life or limb, Level 2, or emergent, refers to conditions that are a potential threat to life, limb or function, and Level 3, or urgent, are serious conditions that require emergency intervention.
Those Level 1-3 patients represented more than 40 per cent of Stella-Maris-de-Kent's overnight caseload, and more than four times the 222 serious cases seen overnight in Sackville.
They would normally visit the Grand Falls General Hospital or the Hotel-Dieu of St. Joseph in Perth-Andover, which are both about 38 kilometres away, or a 30-minute drive, according to Google Maps.
But they will now have to travel to either Edmundston Regional Hospital or Upper River Valley Hospital in Waterville, which are both about 98 kilometres away, or a 70-minute drive one-way.
The Progressive Conservative minority government announced the contentious health-care reforms on Tuesday, sparking angry protests, political divide and talk of an early provincial election.
Horizon Health Network CEO Karen McGrath, Health Minister Ted Flemming and Vitalité Health Network CEO Gilles Lanteigne announced the cuts to ER operating hours at six hospitals on Tuesday. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
In addition to the overnight ER closures, patients in need of hospital care will not be admitted to any of the six hospitals, which also include Enfant-Jésus Hospital in Caraquet. The acute-care beds will be converted to long-term chronic-care beds.
Horizon Health Network CEO Karen McGrath and Vitalité Health Network CEO Gilles Lanteigne have said the changes are needed because of staffing shortages, the aging population and increasing mental health needs.
They said each of the hospitals has seen an average of only five emergency room visits per night, most of them not actual emergencies, and that 95 per cent of patients will still be within 72 kilometres of a 24-hour emergency room.
Nearly 10,000 overnight patients
CBC News obtained the detailed Department of Health data.
The data shows the six ERs saw a combined total of 9,969 patients between midnight and 8 a.m. in 2018-19.
Of those, more than a third, or 3,665, were considered the most serious types of cases.
It's unclear how many additional patients visited the ERs between 10 p.m. and midnight, the period during which they will now stop accepting patients in advance of the closures. The data is only divided into the periods of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 4 p.m. to midnight and midnight to 8 a.m.
The number of patients seen between 4 p.m. and midnight, however, ranged between 9,954 at Stella-Maris-de-Kent and 5,493 at Hotel-Dieu of St. Joseph. Stella-Maris also saw the highest number of most serious cases during this eight-hour period, with 3,610 Level 1-3 patients, well above Enfant-Jésus Hospital, which ranked second with 2,575, and Sackville's lowest rank with 891.
The overnight total for all six ERs for 2019-20 was shaping up to be 10,272 if it had stayed at the same pace as the first nine months, which saw 7,704 patients visit, 2,609 of them urgent or worse.
Progressive Conservative MLA Bruce Northrup, whose Sussex-Fundy-St. Martins riding includes the Sussex Health Centre, said Thursday he can't support the changes. He contends the next closest city emergency departments are already overburdened. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
Although the Sussex Health Centre was the busiest of the six ERs in 2018-19, its total of 2,368 overnight visits was down from the previous year's 2,475.
Its number of serious cases was up, however, at 803, compared with 746, for an average of 2.20 a night, the figures show.
The total overnight visits at three of the other hospitals, meanwhile, increased last year.
Sackville Memorial Hospital saw 90 more patients for a total of 903, Hotel-Dieu of St. Joseph was up 80 to 1,135, and L'Enfant-Jesus rose by 54 to 1,963.
Their per-night averages remained relatively low at 2.47, 3.11 and 5.38 respectively.
Urgent or higher cases represented 0.61, 1 and 2.01 of those, according to the figures.
Maximum distance 114 km
Asked about the location of the five per cent of patients who will not be within 72 kilometres of a 24-hour hospital, spokesman Bruce Macfarlane said the calculation was made by measuring the driving distance between the centre of a community to the nearest hospital using Statistics Canada's census subdivision groups.
"There may be people living on the outskirts of a community who are slightly beyond the driving distance," he said.
"As such, the 5% that is beyond the 72km distance are not necessarily in a single community or area. It is distributed across the province in more isolated rural communities similar to other provinces and territories."
He did say the maximum a patient will have to travel at night is 116 kilometres. The average is 26 kilometres.
The changes are expected to cause a 'significant increase in the number of calls,' said Chris Hood, executive director of the Paramedics Association of New Brunswick. (Radio-Canada/Guy R. LeBlanc)
Dr. Alan Drummond, a rural physician in Perth, Ont., who works in the ER and is co-chair of public affairs for the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, said small community hospitals are "the quintessential health-care safety net for rural Canadians who don't want to be forced to travel an extra hour on wintry, windy roads in the middle of the night with a sick child or a sick loved one."
If patients have to drive more than 30 minutes to reach an emergency room, said Drummond, advanced life-support equipment and paramedics need to be on board ambulances.
"You need to make sure that you have a robust and responsive helicopter ambulance service because sometimes roads are impassable, and I think you need to have a very good communications strategy to facilitate communication between the transporting and receiving hospitals," he said.
Meeting to discuss ambulance volumes
Lanteigne, of Vitalité, said Ambulance New Brunswick is currently meeting its targets and has made great strides with better-trained paramedics, more technology on the ambulances and improved communication with emergency rooms.
But members of the two regional health authorities and government officials will meet with Ambulance New Brunswick in the coming days to consider the additional volume of patients the cutbacks will bring.
Lanteigne said half the people who visit emergency rooms are there because they can't access a family doctor within five days. Part of the goal is to increase access to primary care by freeing up overnight ER doctors and hiring nurse practitioners. (Radio-Canada)
In addition, "we have to make sure that the transfer corridors are well established with the regional hospitals; that they have capacity to be able to receive these patients," Lanteigne said.
"So
there are a number of really minute details here that we need to make
sure because what we're aiming here is to have certain services that are
going to be safe and of quality and that are sustainable."
Chris
Hood, executive director of the Paramedics Association of New
Brunswick, said of the 1,100 paramedics in the province, 70 have
advanced care training. They could put that training to better use to
help more patients, especially now because there will be "sicker
patients who will be travelling longer distances," he said.
Not 'putting lives at risk'
Some people have accused the government and the regional health authorities of putting lives at risk with the reforms.
"Any changes are very disrupting," Lanteigne said in response. But after studying the data, he rejects the notion they are putting anyone in danger.
"In fact, we're improving the system because we're maintaining these emergency room services seven days a week, 16 hours, which is considerable access because that's when there are more people that are utilizing these services," he said.
"And in addition, we're putting more resources in the community."
Another 336 doctor hours
For example, the physicians who were working in the ERs overnight will now be freed up to work during the busier daytime hours either in an ER, a family practice, a clinic or other medical service, said Lanteigne.
He could not estimate how many more patients the physicians might see because it will be up to them if they want to work and how much. Some are so-called locums from out of province who temporarily fill in during absences or illnesses.
But it's the equivalent of 336 hours a week, he said.
"We know it's not going to be 336 hours, but it's not going to be zero either. So it's going to be somewhere in there."
In addition, nurse practitioner clinics will open in Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton with six nurses each, which is expected to reduce the number of people waiting for family doctors by 18,000 or 54 per cent. Some nurse practitioners will also be added to the ERs in those three cities to see less urgent (Level 4) and non-urgent (Level 5) patients.
"It's not like we're moving from a perfect functioning system right now," said Lanteigne. "Everybody agrees that the health system is in crisis and that we need to make changes.
"We think it's the best solution for what's happening now and at the end, we'll be able to sustain the service, we'll be able to have quality and [safe] services."
Do I think that consultation was warranted in this case? No, I don't, because it is only us as leaders [who] know the full picture of what we're facing.
- Karen McGrath, Horizon Health Network CEOThere will be a transition period once the changes take effect March 11 to ensure people get accustomed and everything goes smoothly, Lanteigne stressed. He did not say how long the transition period would last.
The changes take effect just one day after the legislature is scheduled to resume sitting. But Department of Health officials and the health authorities' CEOs will appear before the public accounts committee next week.
MLAs and other critics of the changes have complained the government didn't consult the six communities but instead surprised them with the planned cuts to ER hours.
But McGrath, of Horizon, said her job was to come up with a plan for sustaining the network's health-care service.
"Do I think that consultation was warranted in this case?" she asked. "No, I don't, because it is only us as leaders [who] know the full picture of what we're facing.
"So people in Sussex know the situation in Sussex. They do not know the situation in Saint John or in Minto or anywhere else. So what I am looking at is sustainability of the system."
The
following data is from the Department of Health's Management
Information System. The data is subject to a quality assurance process
and used nationally and internationally for analysis and comparison,
said Vitalité spokesperson Thomas Lizotte.
Horizon's 3 affected hospitals:
| Sussex Health Centre | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
| Total overnight visits | 2,457 | 2,475 | 2,368 |
| Average per night | 6.73 | 6.78 | 6.49 |
| Total Levels 1, 2 and 3 (urgent) | 748 | 746 | 803 |
| Average per night | 2.05 | 2.04 | 2.20 |
| Sackville Memorial Hospital | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
| Total overnight visits | 717 | 813 | 903 |
| Average per night | 1.96 | 2.23 | 2.47 |
| Total Levels 1, 2 and 3 (urgent) | 203 | 173 | 222 |
| Average per night | 0.56 | 0.47 | 0.61 |
| Hotel-Dieu of St. Joseph | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
| Total overnight visits | 1,075 | 1,055 | 1,135 |
| Average per night | 2.95 | 2,89 | 3.11 |
| Total Levels 1, 2 and 3 (urgent) | 256 | 287 | 365 |
| Average per night | 0.70 | 0.79 | 1 |
Vitalité's 3 affected hospitals:
| Enfant-Jésus Hospital | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
| Total overnight visits | 1,883 | 1,909 | 1,963 |
| Average per night | 5.16 | 5.23 | 5.38 |
| Total Levels 1, 2 and 3 (urgent) | 738 | 687 | 734 |
| Average per night | 2.02 | 1.88 | 2.01 |
| Grand Falls General Hospital | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
| Total overnight visits | 1,523 | 1,569 | 1,400 |
| Average per night | 4.45 | 4.30 | 3.84 |
| Total Levels 1, 2 and 3 (urgent) | 701 | 674 | 591 |
| Average per night | 1.92 | 1.85 | 1.62 |
| Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
| Total overnight visits | 2,291 | 2,242 | 2,200 |
| Average per night | 6.28 | 6.14 | 6.03 |
| Total Levels 1, 2 and 3 (urgent) | 1,030 | 1,013 | 950 |
| Average per night | 2.82 | 2.78 | 2.60 |
Travel distances:
| Daytime | Nighttime | |
| 95 per cent | Within 48 km | Within 72 km |
| 90 per cent | Within 37 km | Within 63 km |
| Maximum | 89 km | 116 km |
| Average | 18 km | 26 km |
128 Comments
David Amos
I ask again what is the life of just one child worth?
SarahRose
Werner
Reply to @David Amos:
If you seriously want to save children's lives, start with the number
of children in this province who live in poverty and are therefore at
increased risk of physical and mental health issues, including
addiction.
David Amos
Reply to @SarahRose
Werner: One of the 10,000 mentioned must have been a child who is still
with us because of emergency service after midnight correct? I will let
you worry about poverty and mental health. I am just a poor old dude
they call crazy but I still am concerned about the well being of the
young ones among us and it begins with keeping them breathing byway of
NOT closing emergency rooms
Jim Cyr
Reply to @David Amos: By your logic, there should be an ER on every street and road in NB....
.
.
Johnny
Horton
Reply to @Jim Cyr:
Vote for Amos he will put an ER st your doorstep, just in case. Who cares about cost, it’s a child’s life!
Vote for Amos he will put an ER st your doorstep, just in case. Who cares about cost, it’s a child’s life!
David Amos
Reply to @Jim Cyr: I said
"I am just a poor old dude they call crazy but I still am concerned about the well being of the young ones among us and it begins with keeping them breathing byway of NOT closing emergency rooms"
"I am just a poor old dude they call crazy but I still am concerned about the well being of the young ones among us and it begins with keeping them breathing byway of NOT closing emergency rooms"
David Amos
Reply to @Johnny
Horton: I must say the you and your buddies in the Irving Clan have
nothing to whine about. You cold old dudes have had your kick at the can
down the road in the wonderful old world. Time to find a heart to warm
up for the benefit of of the souls of unborn and those a little older.
More importantly you all have a Medicare Card to help live on and and
on in order moan for more more and more. Of that I have no doubt
Whereas your hero Higgy and his cohorts enjoy making certain that the
"STAY" stays on my entitlement to the same Health Care as you methinks I
should sue GNB if only to watch you cry some more N'esy Pas?
Terry Tibbs
Reply to @David Amos:
The building is there, the lights and heat/cool is on, there are patient beds in the building with patients in them requiring 24 hour care.
Tell me please, exactly what is the extra cost?
BE HONEST!
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/emergency-room-closure-sackville-allergy-food-1.5464484
The building is there, the lights and heat/cool is on, there are patient beds in the building with patients in them requiring 24 hour care.
Tell me please, exactly what is the extra cost?
BE HONEST!
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/emergency-room-closure-sackville-allergy-food-1.5464484
Sackville family wonders about life-saving treatment if ER closes overnight
Minutes matter for 5-year-old Owen Bornemann's life threatening food allergies
· CBC News · Posted: Feb 14, 2020 9:44 PM AT
5-year-old Owen Bornemann has life threatening allergies to common foods like wheat, milk, egg, peanuts, sesame and tree nuts. (Tori Weldon/CBC)
Laura Noel's 5-year-old son Owen Bornemann needs quick access to an emergency room at all times due to his life-threatening food allergies but with overnight closures looming she isn't sure how to keep the boy safe.
The family takes great pains to try and keep Owen safe from the residue of wheat, milk, egg, peanuts, sesame and tree nuts. It takes diligence on the part of his parents and his 10 year-old brother Felix.
Everyone washes their hands when they enter the house and they change clothes if they have been around any foods that could trigger a reaction.
Owen's parents, Laura Noel and James Bornemann and his brother Felix go to great lengths to make sure he isn't around any foods he is allergic to, but accidents happen. The family is worried Owen will need the emergency room during a night while it's closed. (Tori Weldon/CBC)
They are careful because Owen's allergic reactions send him into anaphylactic shock.
"It's like a bomb going off," said Noel. "He usually throws up, he swells up incredibly, he has trouble breathing, his eyes will swell so much that they bleed and it's terrifying."
It's happened four times in his young life, and each time his parents have had to use two EpiPens and an inhaler to keep his airways open on the two-kilometre drive to the emergency room at the Sackville Memorial Hospital.
"We just take him instead of calling the ambulance, it takes too long," said Noel.
On Feb. 11 the province announced it would be closing emergency rooms overnight in six rural hospitals as of March 11. The Sackville Memorial Hospital is on that list.
Karen McGrath, CEO of Horizon Health, said each of the three Horizon Health hospitals only saw five patients a night on average, and that each hospital is within 75 kilometres of another emergency room in the province.
Owen's parents don't know exactly how many minutes their son can survive after his reaction starts, but they don't want to find out.
The closest 24-hour emergency room is in Amherst N.S, 20 kilometres further than their local hospital.
Moncton's
two 24-hour emergency rooms are more than 50 kilometres away. Laura
isn't sure the ambulance is equipped to keep Owen alive long enough to
get there.
The family doesn't yet want to think about moving because people in the community are part of their support system.
Laura Noel and James Bornemann aren't sure what to do as the overnight emergency room closure approaches. "We are full of fear and now just a lot of uncertainty, we don't really have a game plan right now." (Tori Weldon/CBC)
"There's a lot of people who know our situation and you know they say, 'oh there's an ice cream cone over there on the playground, avoid that area'," said Laura.
Owen was able to attend playschool last September, one of the first times he was around other children his age.
"We've worked really hard obviously with playschool and with all those 38 families to create this little safe haven for Owen to go out and make friends and be a friend," Laura said.
Aside
from the community support, Laura said she's spent years putting
together a team that helps Owen with other issues related to his
compromised immune system.
"It takes a long time to put these things into place and it's not something you can just move with you."
Owen's father, James Bornemann, said it often takes months before Owen can see his pediatrician, so a March deadline for ER service cuts isn't enough time to work out the next steps.
"We love him so much, we have to really do whatever it takes to keep him safe, healthy, and happy."
https://globalnews.ca/news/6547599/caraquet-mayor-vows-to-fight-n-b-health-care-reform/
People all across the province agree the state of health care in New Brunswick needs to change, but community leaders say this move is a mistake.
“It’s a big impact because the hospital of Caraquet serves all of the (Acadian) Peninsula because Tracadie has a lot of work with all their beds,” says Louise Blanchard, of Comité Action ‘H,’ a group that has advocated for the hospital. “(Tracadie) cannot receive all the emergencies from all over the peninsula.”
The mayor, who ran for the New Brunswick Tories in the 2018 provincial election, says he only learned about the decision which has been backed by the health authorities, once it became public knowledge.
“(I’m) very disappointed with the government, very disappointed with the health authorities,” Haché says.
A family doctor in Cocagne, who advocates for equal medical services for Francophone communities, says this is the beginning of the end for rural New Brunswick.
“There will be no hospitals standing in rural New Brunswick ever, in the next 5-10 years, if we let this go,” says Dr. Hubert Dupuis, president of Égalité santé en français. “It’s as simple as that. And people will pay with their lives.”
5-year-old Owen Bornemann has life threatening allergies to common foods like wheat, milk, egg, peanuts, sesame and tree nuts. (Tori Weldon/CBC)
Laura Noel's 5-year-old son Owen Bornemann needs quick access to an emergency room at all times due to his life-threatening food allergies but with overnight closures looming she isn't sure how to keep the boy safe.
The family takes great pains to try and keep Owen safe from the residue of wheat, milk, egg, peanuts, sesame and tree nuts. It takes diligence on the part of his parents and his 10 year-old brother Felix.
Everyone washes their hands when they enter the house and they change clothes if they have been around any foods that could trigger a reaction.
Owen's parents, Laura Noel and James Bornemann and his brother Felix go to great lengths to make sure he isn't around any foods he is allergic to, but accidents happen. The family is worried Owen will need the emergency room during a night while it's closed. (Tori Weldon/CBC)
They are careful because Owen's allergic reactions send him into anaphylactic shock.
"It's like a bomb going off," said Noel. "He usually throws up, he swells up incredibly, he has trouble breathing, his eyes will swell so much that they bleed and it's terrifying."
It's happened four times in his young life, and each time his parents have had to use two EpiPens and an inhaler to keep his airways open on the two-kilometre drive to the emergency room at the Sackville Memorial Hospital.
"We just take him instead of calling the ambulance, it takes too long," said Noel.
Closures coming
On Feb. 11 the province announced it would be closing emergency rooms overnight in six rural hospitals as of March 11. The Sackville Memorial Hospital is on that list.
Karen McGrath, CEO of Horizon Health, said each of the three Horizon Health hospitals only saw five patients a night on average, and that each hospital is within 75 kilometres of another emergency room in the province.
'16 minutes is too far'
Owen's parents don't know exactly how many minutes their son can survive after his reaction starts, but they don't want to find out.
The closest 24-hour emergency room is in Amherst N.S, 20 kilometres further than their local hospital.
It takes a town
The family doesn't yet want to think about moving because people in the community are part of their support system.
Laura Noel and James Bornemann aren't sure what to do as the overnight emergency room closure approaches. "We are full of fear and now just a lot of uncertainty, we don't really have a game plan right now." (Tori Weldon/CBC)
"There's a lot of people who know our situation and you know they say, 'oh there's an ice cream cone over there on the playground, avoid that area'," said Laura.
Owen was able to attend playschool last September, one of the first times he was around other children his age.
"We've worked really hard obviously with playschool and with all those 38 families to create this little safe haven for Owen to go out and make friends and be a friend," Laura said.
"It takes a long time to put these things into place and it's not something you can just move with you."
Owen's father, James Bornemann, said it often takes months before Owen can see his pediatrician, so a March deadline for ER service cuts isn't enough time to work out the next steps.
"We love him so much, we have to really do whatever it takes to keep him safe, healthy, and happy."
https://globalnews.ca/news/6547599/caraquet-mayor-vows-to-fight-n-b-health-care-reform/
Caraquet mayor vows to fight N.B. health-care reform
The mayor of a northern New Brunswick community that is set to feel
the impacts of the recent province’s health-care reform announcement
says they won’t be giving up any time soon.
“We’re talking with different mayors that are affected,” says Kevin Haché, Caraquet’s mayor. “This is not over yet. And we won’t stop until the decision changes.”
Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus in Caraquet is one of six hospitals that will be impacted by the reform announced by the province and its health authorities earlier this week Callum Smith / Global News
Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus is one of six rural hospitals across the province that will lose its overnight emergency department services starting March 11. The six impacted communities will get added mental health services.
At those hospitals, there will also be 120 acute care beds that will
be converted to long-term chronic care beds, primarily for people
waiting for a nursing home bed.“We’re talking with different mayors that are affected,” says Kevin Haché, Caraquet’s mayor. “This is not over yet. And we won’t stop until the decision changes.”
Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus in Caraquet is one of six hospitals that will be impacted by the reform announced by the province and its health authorities earlier this week Callum Smith / Global News
Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus is one of six rural hospitals across the province that will lose its overnight emergency department services starting March 11. The six impacted communities will get added mental health services.
People all across the province agree the state of health care in New Brunswick needs to change, but community leaders say this move is a mistake.
“It’s a big impact because the hospital of Caraquet serves all of the (Acadian) Peninsula because Tracadie has a lot of work with all their beds,” says Louise Blanchard, of Comité Action ‘H,’ a group that has advocated for the hospital. “(Tracadie) cannot receive all the emergencies from all over the peninsula.”
The mayor, who ran for the New Brunswick Tories in the 2018 provincial election, says he only learned about the decision which has been backed by the health authorities, once it became public knowledge.
“(I’m) very disappointed with the government, very disappointed with the health authorities,” Haché says.
A family doctor in Cocagne, who advocates for equal medical services for Francophone communities, says this is the beginning of the end for rural New Brunswick.
“There will be no hospitals standing in rural New Brunswick ever, in the next 5-10 years, if we let this go,” says Dr. Hubert Dupuis, president of Égalité santé en français. “It’s as simple as that. And people will pay with their lives.”
© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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