Patient advisory group wants more say in solving nursing shortage
The patient and family advisory council is a partnership between Horizon Health and the community
A group representing patients within Horizon Health Network wants to be included in the conversation about solutions to the province's nursing shortage.
"We're the voice of the patient, but nobody has asked us to be part of anything related to the nursing shortage," said Dr. Wayne MacDonald, co-chair of Horizon's patient and family advisory council, which was set up a little more than three years ago.
The advisory council, which is made up of nine people representing Horizon patients from different demographics and areas, was created as a partnership between Horizon administration and the community.
The council also advises on policies, practices and programs, as well as promote collaboration among staff, physicians and the community to improve patient and family-centred care.
But MacDonald said the council is an untapped resource that deserves to be consulted, as the issue directly affects the patient.
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"We're an important stakeholder and we haven't been asked to the table by anybody," he said.
When it comes to the nursing shortage, he said the council also wants to know "how the holes are being filled," how patients are being impacted and how long they can sustain these types of shortages.
"We want the information and we want to be included in any process that's developed," he said.
Horizon said in a statement Monday the council plays "an important role" in improving patient experience.
"Council members bring a unique patient perspective to the table, and we are fortunate to have such a committed group," said Margaret Melanson, Horizon's vice-president of quality and patient-centred care, in a statement.
"Horizon welcomes their input on all matters and look forward to working with them as Horizon works toward solutions to address New Brunswick's nursing shortage."
MacDonald used an example in Ontario, where a committee was looking at ways to expand a waiting area for cancer patients. A patient representative was invited to offer input, which sparked a broader conversation about why wait times were so long in the first place.
"It caused everybody to pause, they reflected and the focus of that committee changed," he said. "There was no expansion of the waiting room. It was a rearrangement of clinics, clinic times, and the waiting time decreased dramatically."
MacDonald said Horizon Health Network, the New Brunswick Nurses Union and Health Minister Ted Flemming have all said something needs to be done with the province's nursing shortage.
According to Horizon Health's board of directors, there are about 200 permanent, full- and part-time nursing vacancies at Horizon hospitals across the province, with the greatest need in Saint John, Moncton and some smaller communities.
The Nursing Association of New Brunswick has said they are expecting a shortage of 5,000 nurses in the next five years.
Meanwhile, the provincial government announced it would be cutting $8.7 million in funding for nursing programs in April.
MacDonald said he has questions about how the current job openings are being dealt with and how that is affecting the overall health system and patients.
"I don't think it takes too much of a stretch of imagination to figure out that if there's a nursing shortage who's going to be impacted by that," he said.
Patients deserve quality care
The council plans to meet in the coming week to discuss the issue of staffing shortages, which have also caused a number of unit closures at hospitals across the province.
The Campbellton Regional Hospital's obstetrics and pediatric services was closed for almost a week earlier this month because of a lack of physician coverage.
The obstetrics unit at the Bathurst hospital was also closed for several weeks last year and early into 2019 due to a nursing shortage. In April, Hotel-Dieu of St. Joseph in Perth-Andover closed six of its 22 beds because of a shortage or registered nurses.
"We want to make sure patients get the quality of care that they deserve," he said.
With files from Information Morning Fredericton