Calls for N.B. legislature to reconvene grow after major health shakeup

Premier Blaine Higgs talks with reporters after voting in the New Brunswick provincial election in Quispamsis, N.B., Monday, Sept. 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

New Brunswick’s official opposition is calling for all MLA’s to return to the legislature next week to discuss a major shakeup within the Department of Health and two health authorities.

Premier Blaine Higgs is replacing Health Minister Dorothy Shephard and Horizon Health Network CEO Dr. John Dornan, following the death of a patient this week inside the emergency waiting room at Fredericton’s Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital.

Higgs is also revoking the elected boards of both the Horizon and Vitalité health authorities and replacing them with appointed trustees.

Interim Liberal leader Roger Melanson says the legislature should reconvene next week, accusing Higgs of giving himself “all the authority” in controlling provincial health services.

The group representing New Brunswick physicians says it supports the changes announced Friday afternoon.

“The health system is in crisis, and addressing this crisis will require swift and difficult decisions,” says New Brunswick Medical Society president Dr. Mark MacMillan, in a statement. “We support any such decision that ultimately leads to meaningful change in the quality of care available to New Brunswickers.”

In a statement, the New Brunswick Nurses Union says “the announcement of bold moves in the RHA’s, and Department of Health indicate that the Premier has heard nurses when we say something has to change and that our voices need to be heard loud and clear when it comes to the delivery of healthcare in facilities and communities across NB.”

As of Friday, Bruce Fitch is the province’s new Minister of Health, switching places with Shephard, who becomes Minister of Social Development and the minister responsible for the Economic and Social Inclusion Corporations.

Dr. Dornan’s replacement is Margaret Melanson, who is currently Horizon’s vice-president of clinical services and interim vice-president of quality and patient-centred care.

New Brunswickers were skeptical Saturday about what, if any effect, the cabinet and management changes would have on ER wait times and emergency department shutdowns.

 

 

 

 

 

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