Some nurses will be asked to move into different parts of the health system, according to the premier, in a bid to address issues with hospital waits and primary care access.
Premier Susan Holt said the regional health authorities have made similar shifts before — notably, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This time, she said, it’s being done to address long-standing issues, noting 12-hour waits in emergency rooms as an example.
“We need different results in health. New Brunswickers are demanding that they get timely access to care, that they get the primary care that they need,” Holt said.
Opposition members criticized the government Friday for a move by the regional health authorities to reassign some nurses away from their chosen field and into areas with staffing shortages.
“Doing things the way we’ve always done them is not going to get better results for New Brunswickers.”
Holt did not have full details on the number of people who would be affected by the change, or the specialty areas that might see fewer staff, but said she’s aware of discussions with public health nurses and at the Saint John Regional Hospital.
Vitalité Health Network did not respond to a request for further details on Friday.
Horizon Health Network president and CEO Margaret Melanson sent a statement that didn’t confirm a redeployment of resources and did not say which staff members would be affected.
“We are committed to continuous improvement and ongoing organizational transformation, ensuring the right provider is in the right place at the right time to provide the best access and care experience possible,” the statement said.
“Any time Horizon considers changes to roles or team composition, we make every effort to match opportunities with [an] individual’s skills and scope of practice and ensure education and training required to succeed in those roles is provided. We are also respectful of collective agreements throughout these processes.”
But Official Opposition Leader Glen Savoie said he’s heard from nurses in several parts of the system who have been told they will have to work in a different area.
“I would argue that there are a lot of registered nurses in public health, community health, mental health, who are all being impacted. Extramural, all of these different facets,” Savoie said.
“We don’t have large-scale numbers yet, but we’re continuing to investigate to try and understand the scope of it.”
Savoie said the government is failing to communicate with workers in the system before making changes. He said the same thing is happening with education staff.
“They should have talked with registered nurses, they should have talked with the people who are doing the jobs, and say, ‘How do we get to a plan where we can make these changes?’ They’re not doing that,” he said.
“Same thing with teachers. They’re making cuts that are impacting the classroom and they won’t admit it. They’re making cuts here that are impacting health care and they won’t admit it.”
Savoie said he’s heard from nurses who say they were told they would be laid off if they don’t move into a new role.
But Health Minister John Dornan said no one would be laid off as a result of what he called a “redeployment” of resources.
“Health care does often involve a redeployment,” Dornan said in question period Friday. “One of the things that we are quite proud of is that we are not laying our nurses off. We always have a role for them in different areas of our hospital.”
New Brunswick Nurses Union president Paula Doucet was not available for an interview on Friday.
In a statement, spokesperson Alix Saulnier said the union would wait for more information before commenting.
“We have not been officially notified of any workforce adjustments,” Saulnier wrote. “When workforce adjustments are made, there is a process to be followed.”
