Fredericton surgeon seeks commitment from candidates to spend 48 hours in ER if elected

Dr. Chris Goodyear, a general surgeon at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton, has issued a challenge to all the candidates in the upcoming provincial election.

He wants them to sign a contract saying that if elected, they will spend 48 hours in a New Brunswick emergency department bed, wearing a Johnny shirt, "to experience health care first-hand," before they walk into the legislature.

"I think if we have a legislative assembly full of people that had that experience, things may be starting to turn for the better," Goodyear told CBC's Information Morning Fredericton, as part of a panel discussion about health care and the election.

Health care is proving to be one of the biggest issues in the election, with the party leaders promising to make a number of changes, if elected.

Some stakeholders contend a greater portion of citizens don't have access to care, and that health-care professionals are burning out and leaving.

They say creativity, flexibility and more money are needed to address a worsening crisis.

No quick fix

Although health-care professionals predicted a crisis 30 years ago, based on the baby boomer demographic, anticipated retirements and the resources that would be needed, it's even worse than expected, said Goodyear, given the increased population and COVID-19 pandemic.

Marc Thorne, the mayor of Sussex and part of a steering committee working with Horizon Health Network to find solutions for health-care challenges in its communities, said the crisis didn't happen overnight and "clearly there's no quick fix."

"When you look at the recruitment issues and retention issues and the rate that we're losing health-care professionals versus how fast we're getting them, it's creating a tremendous problem … not just our jurisdiction, but all over Canada."

Patients 'getting angry' too

Dr. Anand Irrinki, a family doctor in Fredericton, thinks the health-care system is actually beyond a crisis. He points to about 30 per cent of the population not having access to primary care and the overwhelmed emergency departments as examples.

If these problems aren't addressed now, he fears where the system is going to end up, he said.

"I'm still not convinced that our leadership or our politicians have taken the matter so seriously that they understand that that dam is really nearly broken," said Irrinki.

Unless they get "very aggressive," he's not convinced the province will see many changes. "And there has to be changes in a lot of areas to save the system."

Still, Irrinki is encouraged that it's not just health-care professionals voicing their concerns anymore. He hears patients "getting angry" too because they're paying for services they can't get, he said.

"I feel like the public finally is going to hold [people's feet] to the fire to say, 'Hey, we need to make changes to the entire system and how it's being run.'"

Warning ignored too long

Paula Doucet, president of the New Brunswick Nurses Union, said governments and health-care employers have failed to heed the warnings of health-care professionals for too long.

"It's almost like a war-torn country where you're trying to figure out where to stop the bleeding the most," she said.

Doucet welcomes Goodyear's proposed contracts for election candidates as a "wonderful idea."

While health care is always a priority during an election, it "quickly falls off the radars" of those elected, she said.

"It's about accountability ... and knowing that we need real investments — dedicated investments — and we need strategic plans."

The whole system needs reform, right across the province, said Doucet. It should not just be "the squeakiest wheel gets all the oil," she stressed. Each community needs access to care within their community and the solutions may need to look different between communities.

Flexibility will help recruitment efforts

There has been a lot of talk this campaign about collaborative care practices, but Irrinki thinks the best way to attract new doctors is to be more flexible.

Some physicians want to be salaried and work in a community health-care clinic, while others want to be a partial fee for service and work in Family Medicine New Brunswick, he said.

"If we can give new graduates flexibility in all of those different models, they will come here. They just need to see that there's different models and a community that's willing to work with them to come here."

Right now, if a doctor doesn't fit into the model of care there is no way to bring them into the system, said Irrinki.

Retention is key

Goodyear contends it's more important to retain the people who are "keeping the system alive."

Physicians in the capital region are leaving, he said. Unsuccessful efforts to work with the Fredericton council and chamber of commerce to obtain a hybrid operating suite didn't help, he suggested.

"That certainly struck a blow to a lot of the physicians," said Goodyear. "We thought we had a good argument for that to be part of what we use to practise here."

A recent report found New Brunswick is losing young nurses at a faster rate than anywhere else in the country. For every 100 nurses who entered the profession in New Brunswick in 2022, 80 left before the age of 35, according to the report by the Montreal Economic Institute, an independent public-policy think tank. That's double the national average.

Doucet cites workload and remuneration. New Brunswick nurses are the lowest paid in Canada, with the exception of Quebec, she said.

These make it difficult to recruit or retain, said Doucet.

Another problem, she said, is that many fourth-year nursing students tell her they've never been contacted by anyone in the New Brunswick health-care system about potential jobs.

"So they're being scooped up by other jurisdictions."

Goodyear said while New Brunswick may not be able to keep up with salaries in other provinces, its current per capita health spending is too low, especially considering its older population.

"So that needs to be pointed out to the citizens of New Brunswick, and they need to be asking politicians of all stripes, you know, 'What do you plan to do the fix that?'"

Thorne is encouraged that all parties seem to have woken up to the challenges and are becoming creative, leaving a former "rigid mindset" about how health care should be delivered behind.

Without alternate solutions, he said, "we're going to be in very big trouble."