Health minister says recruitment for URVH department remains priority
When Horizon Health announced the resumption of labour and birth services at the Upper River Valley Hospital (URVH) in Waterville on Feb 20, expectant mothers breathed a collective sigh of relief.
In their media release, Horizon said all pregnant individuals who would normally deliver their babies at URVH should proceed to this facility.
Horizon officials said nursing staff contacted all expectant individuals in the area who are 35 weeks pregnant and over.
Horizon asked expectant individuals experiencing signs of early labour or any symptoms of concern to call the URVH Labour and Birth Services team at 506-375-2611.
Horizon announced the suspension of labour and birth services at Upper River Valley Hospital from Nov. 17 to Jan. 13 on Nov. 14, forcing expectant mothers to travel to Fredericton to deliver their babies.
Horizon explained that the inability to provide emergency caesarian sections (C-sections) forced the suspension of services.
Despite more frequent suspensions, New Brunswick Health Minister Dr. John Dornan says his department’s focus remains recruitment for Horizon, particularly for integral departments like the URVH’s Labour and Birth unit.
In an interview with the River Valley Sun, Dornan said while recruitment remains a challenge, it’s one he’s willing to tackle.
“We are working on coming up with a more consistent delivery strategy,” said Minister Dornan. “Part of that is recruiting family doctors who are comfortable doing deliveries. On the specialty side of the house, (we need) people who are prepared to do cesarean sections and that’s a minority of surgeons.”
Dr. Dornan added that some difficulties are tied to putting doctors in situations where they are not working to their full capacity because a department like labour and delivery isn’t always busy.
“And for many people that we have used, they have had to travel from other parts of the province and so, that’s always difficult as well and it’s costly,” he added.
While Minister Dornan says his government is committed to the future of the URVH unit, Woodstock-Hartland MLA and Conservative Health Critic Bill Hogan isn’t as sure.
“I’m not convinced that Horizon Health is committed to providing full service to the URVH and rural health care,” said Hogan when reached by the River Valley Sun. “There are many instances where health professionals have been transferred to the DECH (Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton) or services for our citizens have been bumped.”
Hogan said there needs to be a Chief of Staff and a Chief of Surgery at the URVH, not at the DECH. He also wants the province to ensure a delivery unit that provides labour and delivery 24/7, 365 days a year.
“When it’s not available, it puts expectant mothers at risk,” added Hogan. “Recruitment needs to ramp up in New Brunswick. A more concerted and consistent effort by Horizon Health and the department would be a good start.”
Dr. Dornan says recruitment is at the core of working to solve the healthcare puzzle.
“It’s very difficult, complex, and hard to solve. If it had been easy, we would have done it a long time ago,” said the minister. “The community has been very helpful in recruiting primary caregivers, and frankly, family and doctors who do obstetrics. It’s a strength in the community. Attracting specialists is harder. We need to do better, but recruitment is a tougher sell. There’s a nationwide shortage of anaesthetists. We continue to recruit internationally and Woodstock is part of the group that we recruit to. For example, we could employ an anaesthetist full-time there. And then being on call is less onerous. You’re in the community anyway, but what we do have to have is that on-call capability.”
MLA Hogan says he has evidence Horizon could be doing better.
“It’s unacceptable to learn that a letter of offer for a cardiologist at the URVH sat in a desk for two months, and this specialist ended up accepting an offer somewhere else,” he said. “The Minister of Health is also supposed to make full use of all the surgical suites in the province. Apparently, we are losing one of our surgeons, so there is a lot of work to be done there. When Horizon only provides a year-to-year contract, it is very difficult to retain staff.”
- with files from Theresa Blackburn
