Horizon recruited 131 physicians in New Brunswick, still short of annual goal: report

Horizon Health says many New Brunswick hospitals are struggling with overcrowding.

Horizon Health has recruited more than 130 physicians so far this fiscal year, which is still short of their annual goal, according to a new report.

Horizon’s quarterly “Report to our Communities,” which tracks progress with their 2025-2030 strategic plan, said they have recruited 131 physicians, which is 66 per cent of their annual target.

They have also recruited 403 registered nurses, which represents 70 per cent of their annual goal.

“Horizon is making strong progress toward its hiring targets for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026,” the organization said in a news release. “In addition, 179 allied health professionals (103% of the target) and 596 support services staff have been recruited across the health authority.”

Margaret Melanson, president and CEO of Horizon, said the health network is always recruiting emergency department physicians in Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton to decrease wait times at the province’s major hospitals.

She was asked if more doctors on the night shift would help matters.

“I will say with regard to overnight care, the physicians have alluded to the fact that if they had more coverage in the evening, it would likely alleviate congestion overnight. So that would be a discussion with the physician’s leaders with regard to how scheduling of another physician would occur,” said Melanson.

The strategic plan’s commitments for its first year, which runs from April 2025 to March 2026, include:

• establishing nine new Family Health Teams
• matching 10,000 patients with a Family Health Team
• providing 24/7 access to Emergency Mental Health teams at four regional hospitals
• decreasing wait times for all community health services by 30 per cent

Horizon says it established seven Family Health Teams between April and December. The teams are built around a collaborative model that bring together a variety of health-care professionals to improve the patient experience.

So far, 9,643 patients have been attached to a Family Health Team.

‘Deplorable situation’

Before Thursday’s board of director’s meeting in Moncton, Melanson said she wanted to emphasize to the public that the province’s health-care system is truly in a crisis.

“Having over a hundred per cent capacity in our facilities on a daily basis and asking our staff and physicians to work with those types of pressures as well as having the concerns with regard to patients and families that are needing to be situated in hallways and alcoves and so forth, is just simply a deplorable situation and not the quality of care that we want to see occur,” said Melanson.

Melanson said Horizon recognizes the fundamental cause of overcrowding is the lack of long-term care options in communities for seniors who are medically discharged, but no longer able to leave the hospital to return to their homes.

“We have asked for government to introduce new nursing homes as well as new strategies to better support seniors’ care in their own homes and certainly work with our special care homes as well as other areas toward how we can alleviate this congestion on a timely basis as possible,” said Melanson.

The report noted many New Brunswick hospitals are grappling with capacity pressures. Up to 40 per cent of acute care beds are occupied by medically discharged patients, many of whom are waiting for long-term care.

“Care for our aging population remains one of our most significant challenges. Fragmented accountability and insufficient coordination across government departments is leaving too many older adults in hospital beyond their acute care needs,” said Susan Harley, Horizon’s board chair, in the release. “The consequences are visible and serious: emergency department overcrowding, limited surgical access, and care being delivered in non-clinical spaces – hallways and rooms not designed for patient care.”

Horizon said one of their solutions is using interim nursing home placements while patients wait for their preferred locations.

Horizon said it has initiated six artificial intelligence projects this fiscal year, which surpassed its target of five. The projects include an accelerated stroke diagnosis and treatment pilot, enhanced bone density analysis applied to routine scan and improve website navigation tools.

-With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Derek Haggett

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