The head of one of New Brunswick’s health authorities says dramatic change is needed to deal with the province’s aging population, and every option is on the table.
John McGarry, CEO of the Horizon Health Network, says this could include turning some rural hospitals into nursing homes.
“The idea that we’re going to have all the hospitals that we’ve had for the past 20 years, that’s a waste of time thinking that. We’re going to be making changes,” McGarry said.
While tabling the health authority’s five-year strategic plan on Thursday, to guide it through to 2020, McGarry made it clear the status quo has to go — but exactly what changes will occur remains unclear.
“There needs to be something really dramatic happen in the province,” he said.
McGarry said he anticipates the idea of closing some rural hospitals will encounter opposition, but said it may solve the province’s problem of having too many acute care beds occupied by patients needing long-term care.
“In addition to saving money, we need to be providing people with the respectful care they deserve, and again we aren’t providing people with the right kind of care,” he said.
It’s an idea New Brunswick Health Minister Victor Boudreau mused about in media reports earlier this week.
Health-care advocate Monica McNally says what’s missing from Horizon’s strategic plan is an independent ombudsman defending patients.
“Unless we have somebody in place for the patient, it’s not possible to have truly patient-centred care,” she said.
McGarry, meanwhile, says putting patients first is the cornerstone of the strategy — and the issues are ones the province can’t afford to ignore.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Nick Moore
