N.B. regional acute care hospitals are becoming ‘nursing homes’: Horizon Health CEO

A New Brunswick health CEO says regional hospitals are at risk of becoming nursing homes.

Margaret Melanson says New Brunswick hospitals are ‘past a crisis point’ with the number of alternate-level-of-care patients (ALC) occupying beds while they wait for a long-term care placement.

The CEO of Horizon Health Network was in the hot seat at a legislative committee meeting Thursday morning, but much of what she was asked by MLAs surrounded primary health care, recruitment and retention levels and mental health and addiction supports.

All important issues facing the provincial health-care system.

But when asked by reporters afterward about the ongoing issues of hospital overcrowding and lack of long-term care support Melanson did not hold back.

“We’re moving toward having regional nursing homes as opposed to regional acute care hospitals. And that to me is extremely concerning and should be concerning to the population of New Brunswick,” she said.

Despite speaking about the issue for well over a year, Melanson said it’s only worsened.

At this point, about 40 per cent of hospital beds across Horizon are used by ALC patients.

“When I talk to colleagues of mine across the country, even they that feel they’re facing pressures are flabbergasted at the situation that is here in New Brunswick. And so, it is past a crisis point. It absolutely needs to be addressed,” she said.

There are no new nursing homes being built, according to Melanson. She has suggested government extend the hours of homecare available to these patients, saying that could be the difference between a senior waiting in hospital or at home for a long-term care bed.

If nothing is done, surgeries could be affected, she said.

“Because to date, we have tried our best and the teams work tirelessly daily to see surgical care proceed despite these bed challenges. That is not indefinite,” she said. “We will have surgical interruptions because we will not have any other places to place patients.”

Reporters asked Liberal MLA for Miramichi Bay-Neguac Sam Johnston his thoughts on Melanson’s comments.

“There are challenges within the hospital systems and the Department of Health and the government is coming up with strategies to try to deal with bed space… for those folks in hospital that need to get out to more community-based care,” Johnston said.

Green party leader David Coon is concerned the province’s difficult financial position may see the Susan Holt government hold back on providing the funding the issue needs.

“Anywhere in the health-care system you look, they’re underfunded, which is why we campaigned on a generational investment to solve the problem… The premier chose not to do that in her first year, and now she’s in a mess of a deficit,” he said. “And it’s unlikely we’re going to see the kind of investment we need in this new budget. So, people should be mad.”

Horizon taking over long-term care assessments

Melanson did say Horizon has been granted approval to allow hospital staff to undertake long-term care assessments.

Those assessments determine what level of care a patient needs when released from the hospital – which could be home care, a special care home, or a nursing home.

The Department of Social Development was doing those assessments, but the backlog has grown to over 200 patients waiting in hospital, unable to even get on the waitlist for a nursing home because they have yet to be assessed by a social worker.

“Today, there are over 80 patients at the Saint John Regional Hospital that are waiting for an assessment. And so, for us now to be able to undertake those assessments ourselves, as opposed to waiting for social development to come in and undertake, that is a step in the right direction,” she said.

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