Time's up: Minister falls far short of target to eliminate doctor wait list
CBC
It was six months ago that Health Minister Dorothy Shephard said her department was taking over recruitment from the regional health authorities, and focusing on the elimination of the wait list for primary care.
Shephard told CBC on April 12, 2021, that her "100 per cent goal is to give every New Brunswicker a primary caregiver" within six months.
Unfortunately, the number of patients on the wait list for a family doctor or nurse practitioner remains over 40,000 people, with at least two family doctors in Fredericton leaving with no one to replace them.
At the end of last year, 44,226 people were registered with Patient Connect New Brunswick, which pairs residents with a family doctor or nurse practitioner. Now that number sits at 40,304.
Shephard was not available for an interview.
In a statement a spokesperson said the Department of Health is "actively working…on an innovative solution to connect all patients who are waiting for a primary care provider," but no details were given.
The decrease of 3,922 patients comes despite the fact that 22,508 people have been matched with a primary caregiver between January and August, according to the Department of Health.
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