Getting in to see your doctor or nurse is getting harder, N.B. survey finds
CBC
About 85 per cent of New Brunswickers have access to a family doctor or nurse practitioner, but only one in three people can get an appointment within five days, according to the New Brunswick Health Council's latest survey on primary care.
People in the Campbellton region, Zone 5, experienced the worst timely access in 2022, with only 17 per cent being able to see their primary care provider within that time frame, the results released Wednesday show.
It's a sharp decrease from 2020, when nearly 90 per cent of New Brunswickers reported having access to a primary care provider and nearly 51 per cent said they could get an appointment with their family doctor within five days, said executive director Stéphane Robichaud.
'What we're seeing is, as we're multiplying the options to access a doctor," such as after-hours clinics and eVisitNB virtual care, "it's affecting people who already have a primary care provider and that primary care provider's availability to practise in their own practice," said Robichaud.
Nearly two out of three (62.6 per cent) people with a primary care provider reported using at least one other health-care service in the previous year due to the unavailability of their provider.
The top three services included:
New Brunswickers have also experienced greater difficulties in navigating the health-care system over the past couple of years and are becoming less confident in managing their chronic health condition, according to the more than 5,000 people aged 18 and older surveyed between October 2022 and January 2023.
Nearly 22 per cent reported having trouble finding their way around the health-care system in 2022, up from 7.6 per cent in 2020. The Fredericton region, Zone 3, saw the biggest jump, to more than 26 per cent, from roughly eight.
Only about 33 per cent said they are very confident in managing their chronic health condition, down from nearly 41 per cent.
Robichaud says more oversight of how doctors and nurse practitioners practise medicine is needed.
As it stands, solutions have been driven by various groups, such as the Department of Health, the New Brunswick Medical Society, the regional health authorities and Ambulance New Brunswick Extra-Mural, he said.
"We need to clarify authority for primary care. Who is responsible at the end of the day to understand the needs of the population, the current state of health-service quality, and is responsible for the plans and approaches that are being put forward."
The Department of Health is reviewing the survey results and welcomes having more information and data, said spokesperson Sean Hatchard.
He noted the survey was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic when not all primary care services were fully accessible, but acknowledged many New Brunswickers struggle to access their family doctor or nurse practitioner in a timely fashion.
More than 53,000 Manitobans have accessed birth control at no cost in the first year of the provincial government's free contraception program, the province says.
The Niagara Regional Police Pipe Band is inviting beginners and youth to try its free music program to help carry on the world-calibre musical ensemble's tradition.
Mayors of municipalities across southwestern Ontario say they’ve focused on the things they could control this year, as the U.S. trade war with Canada and the world has hammered local economies.
A house filled with snakes and spiders might be straight out of many people's nightmares, but to longtime exotic pet keeper Nolan Asplund, they’re like family.
The Ontario government is introducing new rules for publicly advertised job postings in the new year, but questions remain over whether the changes will result in tangible benefits for jobseekers.
Did you know ambulance services on Prince Edward Island were once largely provided by funeral homes?
The past 12 months brought big political headlines, new partisan players and plenty of parliamentary surprises. How much do you remember from it all?
The Ontario government has quietly given itself the power to override archaeological protections on development sites.
A freezing rain event that's left roads and trees across southwestern Ontario coated in ice has also seen emergency crews overwhelmed with calls for help from people without power and snapped trees.
Annette Dionne, the last surviving Dionne quintuplet and a champion of children's rights, has died.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government is warning of multiple scams circulating leading up to the holidays.
The painted bunting usually calls the southern U.S. home and travels south at this time of year, but one decided to spend its Christmas holidays up north in Bayfield, N.B.
The Greater Montreal area could see a prolonged period of freezing rain on Monday, with potentially hazardous conditions developing across much of southern Quebec.