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New Brunswick reports gains in primary care access

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A total of 6,768 New Brunswickers have been connected to a family doctor or nurse practitioner since September, according to the provincial government.

Latest figures show 70.9 per cent of New Brunswickers had a primary care provider as of Oct. 30, up 0.7 percentage points.

The province said 626,122 of New Brunswick’s 882,821 Medicare registrants are now attached to a family doctor or nurse practitioner.

Average physician roster size has increased to 1,015 patients.

The government said that suggests investments in a new physician contract and collaborative care clinics are helping improve access to primary care.

Progress has been reported at clinics in communities including Miramichi, Hampton, Fredericton’s north side and St. Stephen, where patients waiting for primary care are being attached to providers.

“Our number one priority is improving New Brunswickers’ access to primary care and delivering care close to home,” Premier Susan Holt said in a government release.

“We are committed to showing New Brunswickers the progress being made in real time, ensuring people have confidence that their health-care system is moving in the right direction.”

The province currently supports 22 collaborative care clinics with a combined patient attachment goal of more than 29,500 people. The clinics bring together health-care professionals to provide team-based primary care.

Health Minister John Dornan said the latest numbers show progress in connecting more residents to care.

“The data we are receiving from primary care providers shows the positive progress in attaching more New Brunswickers to primary care,” Dornan said.

“Our investments in doctors, nurses and collaborative care are helping connect more New Brunswickers to the care they need, when and where they need it.”

The government has committed to establishing at least 30 collaborative care clinics by the end of 2027.

Monthly updates on patient attachment numbers will continue, and a public-facing dashboard is expected to launch in the coming months.

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Primary care funding announced for Thunder Bay–Superior North region

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New provincial funding is aimed at improving access to primary care in the Thunder Bay–Superior North region.

The Ontario government says two local health teams will receive support through its $3.4 billion Primary Care Action Plan.

Nearly $1 million is being allocated to the Nipigon District Family Health Team, while the Marathon Family Health Team will receive about $600,000.

Officials say the investment is expected to connect roughly 3,000 more people with ongoing primary care services.

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Survey finds New Brunswickers unsatisfied with primary care access

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According to the Canadian Medical Association, a Canadian’s access to primary care depends on where they live.

OurCare survey results show that New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Quebec struggle the most to access primary care, ranging from 63 to 73 percent of respondents having a regular family doctor, nurse practitioner, or primary care clinic.

Ontario leads the country for access per capita despite its 1.5-million adults without access to primary care.

New Brunswick lags behind the rest of the country for access to evening and weekend appointments, with the OurCare survey showing 11 percent.

Those without primary care might have to pay privately for services, like in the province of Quebec, where nearly 20 percent of surveyed residents reported doing so. New Brunswick, however, dropped below 3 percent of those paying privately for services.

Satisfaction with primary care systems in New Brunswick averaged with the rest of the country with exception to the three Territories, at 27.8 percent.

Dr. Margot Burnell, president of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), says that not only do millions of Canadians not have a primary care clinician, but many of those who do are unsatisfied with the access they have. “We need to do better for everyone, no matter where they live.”

The OurCare survey was conducted by Dr. Tara Kiran, a family physician-researcher at St. Michael’s Hospital, a site of Unity Health Toronto, in partnership with CMA. It gathered responses from 16,876 adults across Canada.