Number of New Brunswickers waiting in hospital for nursing home beds increases, again

Despite promises that it’s a priority, the number of people, mostly seniors, waiting in New Brunswick hospitals for a nursing home bed has increased, according to numbers collected by the Coalition for Seniors’ Rights.

Cecile Cassista asks for the number of people on nursing home waitlists across the province each month.

In June, there were about 382 people waiting in hospital for a nursing home bed.

In July, that was up to 429.

She says it should be the province’s top priority right now, for the patient, and for the health-care system.

“I don't really think that the left hand and the right hand are talking,” Cassista said. “I have to tell you the bureaucracy actually is beyond me … the Premier promised me in 2019 in December that we were going to look at streamlining the assessment process.”

“Well, we're back to square one again, where it's not streamlined. There's that process that we have to go through, discharge planning, we have a doctor, we have Extra Mural, the file gets transferred to social development and months down the road, you're still in the hospital.”

She argues the file should be transferred from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Health, so that there’s better communication, across just one department.

Health-care experts have been saying that, by moving these patients out, it would open up some much-needed hospital beds and put less pressure on staff.

Above all, it’s better for the patient.

It was one of the top ideas in a report prepared by emergency physician Dr. Yogi Sehgal, sent to politicians and decision-makers last week, on how to help the health-care system.

“The downside is, yeah, there's no nursing home beds or not enough. But there are beds available in the whole province,” Sehgal said last Friday.

“So even if it means temporarily move somebody from say, Fredericton to Bouctouche, wherever the nursing home is, until there’s a bed available, that’s better than uncle Bob having a heart attack in the back hallway,”

Horizon Health said it’s working on a plan with the departments.

“Transfer the file to health, fix the assessments, take a look seriously at fixing home care,” said Cassista.

For its part, a spokesperson for the Department of Social Development said in an emailed statement that it’s trying some new initiatives and supports in the long-term care sector to help with the issue, including:

• the addition of a social worker to discharge teams in 10 regional hospitals to help facilitate placements
• 18 Special Care Homes are piloting the addition of enhanced clinical supports from the Extra Mural Program to help reduce premature admission to hospital
• the use of interim home support hours that allows individuals to obtain care sooner

The department says it is also working on the launch of a long-term care plan in early 2023.