A new program in one of the Maritimes’ largest emergency rooms is looking to address overcrowding by booking people’s appointments elsewhere.

Dr. Serge Melanson, the chief of staff at the Moncton Hospital, says patients will now be assessed on arrival by a registered nurse. If the patient has non-urgent symptoms, they'll be given other options for care, such as a family doctor or an after-hours clinic.

The patient can also continue waiting in the ER if they so choose.

“The best example would be your concerned parent arriving early one morning with their child with a fever or an earache, so they may be looking at a six to seven hour wait in our emergency department,” said Dr. Melanson. “What we’re going to be offering them is an opportunity to contact their own family doctor on their behalf, and organizing an appointment for them later that afternoon.”

Dr. Melanson says overcrowding has been an issue for years.

“Today if you went into our ER department, you'd see there wasn't a single seat to sit down in the emergency room,” said Dr. Melanson.

New Brunswick Health Minister Victor Boudreau says he'll be watching the new Moncton Hospital program closely, adding that it's only one part of the overcrowded hospital.

“We're not going to solve this wait time problem overnight,” said Boudreau. “The ALC beds, the seniors that are in hospital beds, need to be placed into nursing homes.”

Dr. Melanson says the hospital has been working since the beginning of the year to ensure the new program is safe, which has also caught the interest of other hospitals.

“We’ve been in contact with many other emergency departments in the province and they're very eagerly awaiting to hear our results to hopefully implement similar programs in their institutions come the fall,” said Dr. Melanson.

The Moncton Hospital says this is about education, as well. Staff did a recent survey of 300 people waiting in the ER and found that most were not aware about after hours clinics, or the toll-free telecare 811 line.

The program inside the Moncton Hospital ER officially begins on Wednesday.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Nick Moore.