In July, wait times for Tele-Care 811 nurses to call patients back rose by more than 1,300 per cent in New Brunswick after the province switched from eVisitNB to Foundever’s Virtual Care NB. New Brunswick’s health department told CTV News callback wait times jumped from an average of 12 minutes to two hours and 53 minutes in July, and three hours and 49 minutes in August. The department says 65 per cent of calls were resolved within minutes on first contact, and patients only had to wait for a callback if a nurse was not immediately available. “Higher than normal call volumes in July and August, including increased demand related to Virtual Care NB, contributed to longer callback times,” said health department spokesperson Tara Chislet in an emailed statement. “In response, several improvements were implemented to streamline access, including new self-service options for prescription refills, lab requisitions and follow-up appointments. Call volumes began to stabilize in late September.” By September, the average call back wait time was three hours and 18 minutes. But many are still reporting problems, like Fredericton resident Hilary Quigley. Last Friday she called 811 to ask about a new symptom. It took more than eight hours before she was able to speak to a nurse. When the nurse did call her back, she recommended Quigley go to a clinic, but local clinics were already closed and an online clinic mentioned by the nurse had no openings. “I couldn’t do anything. I felt completely overlooked,” Quigley said. She had to wait until Monday to receive care. “I find it a little counterintuitive because if someone’s dealing with a pretty serious issue but doesn’t want to overload our already overcapacity health-care system, if they’re needing a call just to be able to get referred to the system, it’s putting barriers in place for some folks that might not have access or have the means in order to do that,” she said. Patients can access Virtual Care NB, the province’s new virtual health-care service, either through an online symptom checker or by calling Tele-Care 811. The number is also used for patients who want health-care advice like direction about if they need to go to an emergency room or access other health services. But Shelley Petit, chair of the New Brunswick Coalition of Persons with Disabilities, worries wait times will increase pressure on already struggling emergency rooms. “If you’re sitting at home, and it’s your child that is sick, are you going to wait four hours? No. So where are they going? They’re going to the ER,” Petit said. Before transitioning from eVisitNB to Foundever, Health Minister John Dornan promised a “seamless transition.” “We’re putting it all together so you get the right care at the right time, in the right place,” he said in June. He did not make himself available to CTV News for this story. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
