NEWS RELEASE: Bilateral agreement misses the mark for real investments in stabilizing fragile healthcare system: Doucet

The long-awaited bilateral agreement signed yesterday between the province of New Brunswick and the government of Canada, fell short of all expectations.

“It is disappointing to say the least to see an opportunity to make meaningful strides toward stabilizing and transforming our healthcare system go to waste,” said Paula Doucet, President of the New Brunswick Nurses Union.

What appears in the agreement is a series of re-announcements taken directly from last year’s budget and a clear lack of engagement with experts and alignment with the priorities identified in a recent report: 2024 Pre-Budget Health Stakeholder Forum Report.  The report, recently released and provided to government in advance, included recommendations from 17 front-line professional organizations who have first-hand knowledge and expertise in how to address the challenges that exist in the province.

“New Brunswick was one of the last provinces to sign a new bilateral agreement and when we compare some of the targeted incentives and initiatives that were part of other agreements with other provinces to the ‘details’ of ours, there is little to note,” said Doucet.

The agreement notes that over 32 per cent of New Brunswick’s registered nurses are over the age of 55 and an additional seven percent over 65, also noting that the pandemic worsened “burnout and early attrition”. Recruitment of internationally educated nurses and training of new nurses in accelerated programs continue to be touted as the way to turn around the short-staffing issues our system is experiencing.  While helpful down the road on the recruitment front, the agreement makes no mention of the necessary retention of experienced nurses. NBNU has been calling on government to invest in much needed retention incentives of existing, experienced nurses for years, with government failing to do so time after time.

“New Brunswick nurses are frustrated by this government’s inaction,” said Doucet. “Instead of investing in retention planning and incentives aimed at truly stabilizing our system with experienced nurses, this government would rather waste over $100 Million of taxpayers money on private-for-profit Travel Agency Nurses as another band aid solution to staffing issues.”

The lack of quality care New Brunswickers are experiencing is evident. Long wait times, lack of primary care options, and an increased population placing more pressure on the system, are all leading to challenges that this new agreement could have addressed in many ways.

While NBNU is fully supportive of Nurse Practitioner-led clinics and the important role they play in community care, more multi-disciplinary clinics, which include NPs, are needed desperately: clinics that are publicly funded and with services delivered under the public health-care system.

“Our continuing frustration is that we will again see a budget surplus end of fiscal year that is the result of poor planning and no real investment in services New Brunswickers need,” said Doucet.

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The New Brunswick Nurses Union (NBNU) is a labour organization of approximately 8900 nurses who are employed in various healthcare facilities throughout the province of New Brunswick.

Contact:

Jane Matthews-Clark
Communications Officer
[email protected]
Phone:  506-453-7265
Mobile: 506-897-3951