Wait-time targets for addiction, mental health care not being met in N.B., auditor general says
Paul Martin also finds Department of Health hasn't increased funding to match increased demand
New Brunswick's Department of Health is missing its own targets for how long patients should wait to receive addiction and mental health treatment, according to the province's auditor general.
Paul Martin's report, released Tuesday, also revealed that despite an increase in the demand for addiction and mental health services in New Brunswick, the Department of Health has not proportionately increased the amount of funding it budgets every year for those services.
"There was no specific needs analysis to say, 'Well, here we're seeing significant increases in numbers of people being referred [for] mental health needs and needing assistance,' yet the same budget is just being prepared every year and and passed on to the health authorities," said Martin, answering questions from MLAs about his report.
"I think given the significant increase in referrals, assessments, number of people going through, there appears an obvious need to go back and reassess what the need is."
Martin's audit took a look at Department of Health figures related to funding for, and access to, addiction and mental health services in the province between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2024.
His report notes that while the province's two regional health authorities are in charge of administering those services, it's the Department of Health that's in charge of planning, funding and monitoring how those services are delivered.
Missed wait-time targets
A significant part of his report is spent analyzing wait times for people who sought addiction and mental health treatment during the period of his audit.
The audit found that for patients assessed as being high priority, only 44 per cent received treatment within the Department of Health's 14-day target.
How often that target was met also differed by health authority and region, with Saint John hitting the target 62 per cent of the time, the highest rate within the Horizon Health Network.
Campbellton hit that same target 74 per cent of the time, the highest rate within the Vitalité Health Network.
Moncton hit that target at the lowest rate, with it only being met for 35 per cent of high-priority patients in the Horizon system and only 22 per cent of the time within Vitalité.
Martin's report also found that while the department has targets for wait times between assessment and treatment, it doesn't have any targets for the time it takes between a patient being referred and then being assessed.
Funding lags behind demand
Figures included in the report show how the number of people who've sought addiction and mental health services in New Brunswick has climbed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of referrals to such services climbed 37 per cent — from 23,679 for the 2020-2021 fiscal year to 32,454 for 2023-2024.
In spite of that increase, Martin's report found the Department of Health sets its addiction and mental health services budget based solely on historical budget amounts.
The regional health authorities "complete Community Health Needs Assessments, however, the department did not use the assessments in the [addiction and mental health services] budget preparation," says Martin, in his report.
"Without an adequate assessment of needs, the department cannot budget appropriately for the needs of the population."
His report does not identify a specific dollar amount by which funding should go up by to meet the increased demand.
The government's budget for addiction and mental health programming and services totalled $161 million in fiscal year 2020-2021, compared to $200 million in 2023-2024, accounting for a 24.4 per cent change in spending.
Taking questions from reporters, Martin said there have been increases in spending on mental health and addictions but they only seem to have kept up with inflation and not with the increased demand among patients.
"I believe the department needs to do an appropriate needs analysis and determine what is it they need, to provide to those requesting assistance, those that are registering in the system," Martin said.
"It's unfortunate that ... the timelines and the waits are, are very long."
Minister leans on party's election promise
Martin's audit included the last two full fiscal years under the former Progressive Conservative government, before the Liberal Party won a majority in October's election.
Liberal Leader Susan Holt campaigned on increasing spending to cut down wait times in emergency rooms and for people seeking mental health treatment.
Robert McKee, minister responsible for addictions and mental health services, said those improvements are already being worked on, adding that any necessary adjustments in spending will be reflected in next spring's budget.
"Certainly we'll look at the what the needs are of the population, and we're going to make our pitch to the the minister of finance and treasury board to improve services for sure," he said, speaking to reporters after the release of the report.
Spending needs to double, says advocate
The issues highlighted in Martin's report around wait times were discouraging for Christa Baldwin, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association of New Brunswick.
She said those wait times are the result of addictions and mental health services being "chronically underfunded" in New Brunswick, with those services accounting for only six per cent of the province's total health-care budget.
She said the province's budget for addictions and mental health services should be doubled to 12 per cent of the total health-care budget if there is to be serious improvement in access to care.
"There needs to be sound investment in mental health services and that needs to come from robust data-driven analysis," Baldwin said.
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