Holt government will cut wait time for healthcare, commits to establishing and supporting at least 30 new community care clinics

For immediate release

Holt government will cut wait time for healthcare, commits to establishing and supporting at least 30 new community care clinics 

Fredericton – August 26, 2024 — A Holt government will reduce the wait times for healthcare New Brunswickers are experiencing in communities across the province by establishing at least 30 community care clinics offering local, collaborative care from teams of healthcare professionals. The total cost for the commitment will be $115.2 million and includes support for non-clinical staff to remove the administrative burden of healthcare professionals. NB Liberal Party leader, Susan Holt made the announcement today in Fredericton. 

“Access to healthcare is the number one issue in our province today,” said Holt. “And it’s not surprising, given that roughly 180,000 New Brunswickers are without a family doctor and only 30 percent of those with a family doctor can be seen within 5 days. The Higgs government’s inaction on healthcare has pushed the system to the brink. The Holt team will act urgently to implement solutions to make sure that New Brunswickers have access to the care they need. These community care clinics will be a healthcare home, close to home, where people can access care from the right person at the right time.” 

The innovative model announced today will build on only a handful of similarly built clinics in New Brunswick. While other provinces have seen success with collaborative healthcare solutions, the Higgs government has failed to learn from those best practices, leaving far too many New Brunswickers waiting too long for care. 

The community care clinic model will bring together, among other healthcare professionals – doctors, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, psychologists, physiotherapists, pharmacists, and others – to provide a healthcare home for patients. The clinics will be developed in collaboration with communities in order to ensure they meet the needs on the ground instead of a one-size-fits-all approach that works for no one. To ensure that healthcare professionals are able to spend their time focused on patients, each clinic will also include an administrative team to provide paperwork and technology support. 

The first round of community care clinics will be established in regions around the province beginning in Fredericton – where only 68% of residents have access to primary care – followed by clinics in Moncton, Saint John, Edmundston, Campbellton, Carleton North, the Acadian Peninsula, St. Stephen, Sussex, and Sackville.

“We have listened to the healthcare professionals on the ground and they have told us time and again that this collaborative model is the best way to provide New Brunswickers with the care they need. Our goal is to have these 30 clinics up and running with measurable reductions in wait times and the wait list by 2028. Healthcare in New Brunswick is in crisis; we have a plan to fix it and these community care clinics are a critical piece of that plan.” 

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Media inquiries: 

Pascale Paulin 

Press Secretary 

media@nbliberal.ca 

(506) 866-3420