Horizon asks patients with non-urgent ailments to stay away from ERs during holidays

Horizon Health says it has a comprehensive surge plan for the holiday season but is asking people to consider other options to avoid crowding emergency rooms. 

“We have plans in place, and our teams are ready to serve New Brunswick hours throughout the holiday season,” Horizon CEO Margaret Melanson said.

“But we need the public's help by choosing the right care option for their needs and by treating our health-care workers with the respect and the kindness they deserve.”

Melanson said the holidays can bring an influx in visitors to emergency rooms as primary health-care providers work under reduced hours and respiratory illnesses spread through the community. 

She’s asking people with minor or non-urgent ailments to consider using eVisitNB or walk-in clinics or to visit a pharmacy. Melanson also advised people to consider getting prescriptions refilled prior to the holiday crunch.

The health authority has already activated its surge plan, which includes augmented staff, and plans to keep patients moving through the hospital system. 

Melanson is “confident as possible” heading into the next few weeks, having taken lessons from planning and execution in previous years. 

“I would say that we are as prepared as we can be,” she said.

“We're always knowing that there are unexpected circumstances that can occur. But I will say the communication and the engagement has been very, very good and everyone really has leaned in because we absolutely know that we want to serve the public very, very well.”

A recent report from Auditor General Paul Martin found that two-thirds of visitors to emergency rooms in the province were not seen in the appropriate amount of time and that the Health Department did not have a dedicated plan for dealing with long wait times. 

Melanson said efforts to improve access to primary care, such as the 11 government-supported collaborative care clinics that have been announced, are beginning to move the needle a bit. Medically discharged patients waiting for space in nursing homes and other care centres continue to be the biggest challenge facing hospitals. 

Alternative level of care patients are taking up 40 per cent of acute care beds, according to Melanson, pushing all regional hospitals over 100 per cent capacity. 

Typically, there are about 160 “unfunded beds” across the health authority. These are beds used for patients being treated in hallways or closets as hospitals struggle for capacity.