New numbers on nursing bed waitlists paint a troubling picture for New Brunswick

New numbers released by the Coalition for Seniors and Nursing Home Residents’ Rights paint a troubling picture for the province of New Brunswick.

“It was shocking actually to receive the August report, to see such high numbers, I mean we’re talking nearly a thousand,” said executive director, Cecile Cassista.

“This is the most they’ve ever been, ever since I’ve been doing the recording of this.”

Latest data from the end of August shows that there are 984 New Brunswickers on the waitlist for a nursing bed, with 523 waiting in hospitals.

“Right now the August report shows that Moncton is the highest and of course that’s very alarming because we all know that New Brunswick is growing, and we welcome the growth, however, I think that we need to meet the adjustments as well,” said Cassista.

Breaking down the numbers by location:

•  Fredericton: 79 waiting in hospital, 152 in total
•  Woodstock: 21 waiting in hospital, 55 in total
•  Miramichi: 51 waiting in hospital, 91 in total
•  Edmundston: 16 waiting in hospital, 40 in total
•  Restigouche: 27 waiting in hospital, 58 in total
•  Bathurst: 53 waiting in hospital, 83 in total
•  Acadian Peninsula: 36 waiting in hospital, 59 in total
•  Moncton: 136 waiting in hospital, 280 in total
•  Saint John: 87 waiting in hospital, 137 in total
•  St Stephen: 4 waiting in hospital, 5 in total
•  Sussex: 13 waiting in hospital, 24 in total

Across the province, that works out to 523 people waiting in hospital, with 984 waiting for a bed in total.

Cassista says having so many people waiting in hospital beds will have a ripple effect on the health-care system due to staffing shortages. Adding seniors don’t get the simulation that’s needed there since hospitals hold a different purpose.

“It is disheartening to see that the government, in my opinion, not moving fast enough and they should be,” she said.

“I mean the government is sitting there with a huge surplus and we need to put that into our care for our elderly.”

Back in April, the coalition sent a report and recommendations to the government to help address the province-wide problem.

“I think the government needs to look at other models and the models that we’re proposing they look at are the Manitoba model, it’s been around since 1974, you can modify it with the Saskatchewan model from 1978, we’ve shared that with the government and there doesn’t appear to be any movement and it’s shocking and heartbreaking actually when you know that your loved one has to make their home in a hospital setting,” said Cassista.

She also says that the Coalition for Seniors and Nursing Home Residents’ Rights would like to see the seniors moved out of Social Development and moved into a ministry of their own.

In an email to CTV News, a spokesperson on behalf of Social Development said the department is working with several partners to make sure that seniors have access to care.

The department stated: “Since January 2023, the department has opened 120 new nursing home beds. Another 60 beds are anticipated to open this fall. In addition, to alleviate pressures on the hospitals, 18 memory care beds were awarded in Bathurst in April 2023, and 40 Generalist Care beds were awarded in Moncton in August 2023.”

The province also pointed out that the waitlist is always changing and that “close to 150 new people access nursing home beds in New Brunswick each month.”

As for Cassista, she says the coalition will continue to advocate and raise awareness for their Aging with Confidence approach, which would allow seniors to stay in their home environment for as long as possible.

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