Feds fund $430M for N.B. health system, seniors

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New Brunswick has signed two bilateral agreements with the federal government to invest a combined $430 million to improve health care services and access, and to help seniors stay at home longer.

Federal Health Minister Mark Holland announced the two agreements at a news conference in Moncton on Tuesday.

Beauséjour MP Dominic LeBlanc said the agreements came as a result of meetings between the federal government and the premiers of provinces and territories held over the past year and a half, beginning with then-health minister Jean-Yves Duclos, and continuing with Holland when he stepped into the role.

Holland said the agreements made for each province are different because they are tailored to meet the needs of the various regions.

“There’s enormous flexibility inside of these plans,” he said, noting the agreements are the beginning of investments to fix the issues in the health system.

The first is a $313 million “Working Together” agreement to support New Brunswick’s three-year action plan to deliver improvements to its health care system.

Some of the funds will be allocated improving the access and quality to primary care in the province by allowing nurse practitioners to provide non-urgent care for patients as an alternative to emergency department visits, improving access to lung cancer and cervical cancer screening, and enabling pharmacists to assess and treat common ailments, reducing the need for patients to seek care at hospitals.

There will also be an investment in a mobile x-ray program for nursing home residents in order to reduce the number of transfers and non-urgent visits to the hospital, and expanding accessibility of insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring technology.

The funds will also be used to support recruitment, retention and training initiatives for health workers and reduce backlogs.

It will allow for financial incentives to recruit physicians to rural settings and in “underserved” communities, including francophone communities, as well as the transition of up to 10 internationally trained health professionals into the workforce each year through a new Practice Readiness Assessment program.

It will also enhance health worker retention by implementing initiatives that improve safety and reducing stress in the workplace.

Surgery access will also be improved through the funding agreement by continuing hip and knee surgery initiatives that complications, the length of hospital stays, and readmissions, as well as
increasing the availability of cataract surgery options for New Brunswickers by expanding additional publicly funded cataract surgery clinics, including in Miramichi and Bathurst.

Upgrades to the province’s data system in the health field will also help patients access care, like improving virtual and in-person primary care through eVisitNB and NB Health Link for those who do not have a primary care provider, and consolidating regional systems into a single province-wide clinical information solution for storage of medical images and creation of a bilingual, integrated clinical hospital records, to make sure patient information will be available at every point in a patient’s care.

A number of mental health and addictions delivery programs will also be bolstered like improving mental health and addiction services for Indigenous communities in New Brunswick by funding telepsychiatry services for First Nations youth, partnering with First Nations to establish a multidisciplinary team to provide direct support to youths struggling with addiction and mental health challenges, and integrating Community Mental Health Care Services, including treatment facilities in Campbellton and Moncton, for youth with complex mental health needs.

The “Aging With Dignity” agreement is $117 million to support New Brunswick’s five-year action plan to help residents age with dignity close to home, with access to home care or care in a long-term care facility.

Part of the plan is to strengthen rehabilitation services for seniors through improved clinical services in adult special care homes, implementing programs that provide seniors at risk of hospitalization quick access to community health and social services to keep them in the community, implementing an electronic charting solution to make it easier to treat people in their homes, and supporting residential hospices.

Another key part of the agreement is to recruit and retain front-line workers in long-term care through skill building programs, improved workplace culture, and settlement services for newcomers, as well as improved training for staff on workplace safety, culture, and dementia care.

Equipment like call bells, ventilation systems, and beds in nursing homes will be upgraded and a funding program will be put in place for buying essential equipment for special care homes for higher care needs so people would not need to be admitted to a nursing home prematurely.

Fitch said the additional funds from the agreements is included in the upcoming provincial budget.

The budget, announced last week included $3.8 billion for health care. Among the items were $70 million to help the regional health authorities “stabilize and ease pressures” in the health system; $29.7 million for wage rises for a swath of personal support workers and others in the long-term care system; $20 million to “expand collaborative practices and improve access to primary health care”; $50 million for the ongoing heat pump and insulation program.

Holland noted the federal government is asking for reports from provinces for measurable data and indicators demonstrating the improvements using the money in the agreements.

“It needs to be rooted in evaluation, it needs to be rooted in data, it needs to be rooted in science,” he said.

-With files from Andrew Waugh