More concerns around lack of family doctors in New Brunswick

After 50 years with a family doctor, Ben MacMichael is now joining thousands of other New Brunswickers who are without a primary physician.

“My brother asked his doctor, which said they couldn’t take on anyone. They couldn’t even take on someone in their own family, they’re so busy. We’re waiting on another family member to ask their doctor, but we’ve put our name on the list,” he said.

Right now, MacMichael, along with his wife and mother, is trying to figure out what’s next after his family doctor announced he’ll be closing his practice in just a few weeks.

“It puts a little bit of fear in our hearts in wondering what the next steps are,” he said.

MacMichael deals with two ongoing health concerns. He has osteoporosis and nutrient absorption issues.

“I need regular blood work, which are pretty extensive. How do I get those? Do I need to go to a hospital and wait, or how do I get that follow-up?”

The most recent data from the Department of Health says that 50,500 New Brunswickers are in the same position.

Bernadette Landry, New Brunswick Health Coalition Co-Chair, says the coalition is aware of the challenges and it’s definitely concerning.

“We need more family doctors because there’s all those people waiting to have a family doctor and just going here and there for temporary care with people who don’t know them and who they’re probably not going to see again, that’s not good care,” said Landry. “We deserve better than that.”

In a statement to CTV News, the Department of Health said “the 2023-24 provincial budget allocates $39.2 million to support improved access to primary health care.”

Officials say there is another $29.7 million earmarked for recruitment and retention.

Landry says the coalition knows of a lot of doctors who experience “burnouts” in the industry.

“It’s incredible the number of doctors who are on sick leave,” she said.

“They are exhausted, just like the nurses. They have really important responsibilities. It’s really tough on them. It’s a stressful job, they can’t allow themselves to make mistakes so it’s really stressful for them and that’s why some of them just, after a while, they need a break.”

She says the main message the coalition is trying to get across is that the focus needs to be on the public sector.

“If you open the door to private clinics and you encourage those professions to go in private clinics, well that’s weakening the public health-care system,” she said.

There’s also concern that with more family doctors choosing to close their practices across New Brunswick, it could have a trickle-down effect into other health-care sectors, like hospitals.

“One of the things that happens when you lose your family doctor is you often think, ‘Well OK, then I’m going to go to the hospital if I have a health problem,’ and it might not be the right place because the emergency room is for emergencies,” said Landry.

For MacMichael, he is hoping that he’s able to find a family doctor soon, but with required bloodwork, he might have to rely on different options.

“For me, the only option I know of right now is the hospital,” he said. “I haven’t looked into what happens next. I’m still having faith that I can get a doctor, so maybe a little bit of denial there, I don’t know, but we will have to look in the next month or two to see what happens.”

In terms of what can be done, Landry says New Brunswickers can put pressure on the government to fix the system.

“We need to hire more doctors and I don’t know to what point the government is doing something about that,” she said.