Horizon Health Network is launching a new pilot project at its five major hospitals, where a healthcare worker will be in the waiting room 24 hours a day while patients navigate through waiting times and the triage process.

According to Horizon Health Network Acting President and CEO Margaret Melanson, this is a direct result of the death of a patient in the emergency room at Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital.

“This pilot program was implemented in our emergency departments for several reasons,” she said. “First, it will have staff available 24/7 to monitor patients’ vitals, talk to them and determine if anyone is experiencing any increase in their symptoms or any worsening of their condition. which will require immediate reporting. triage nurses or emergency room.”

She said the second goal is to provide the best experience for patients.

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Licensed Practical Nurses, Specially Trained Personal Care Workers and Nursing Students will work during the summer.

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“These people, let’s call them waiting room assistants or monitors, will have a handy trolley that will have blankets, water, bandages—everything the patient might need immediately while they wait.”

Melanson said Horizon is working on a more sustainable solution for when nursing students eventually return to their students.

On July 12, the patient died in the emergency room, prompting a rapid change in leadership in the health authorities and the Ministry of Health.

Melanson confirmed that this was the catalyst for this project and said that such things existed before death, but it was not a full-time permanent position.

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“That’s why we put this current initiative that we’re talking about so we can make sure there’s always someone available,” she said in an interview.

According to CEO Anthony Knight, the Medical Society of New Brunswick is supporting the pilot project.

Another ambulance death under investigation in New Brunswick has been called a “tragic event”.

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“While this is important, as I said, it does not solve the health workforce problems that we are seeing in our hospitals and our community family practices, and the shortage of nurses in the province,” he said. “That’s why we need a coordinated, robust approach to recruiting and retaining healthcare workers in our province.”

He said there were discussions with the new health minister and new trustees about how to make the province more attractive to future doctors and nurses looking for a place to live and work.

“Make sure that we are competitive, that we can show the value associated with work, life and raising a family, and how maybe you can disassociate yourself from a kind of rat race in some of our major cities,” he said.

The New Brunswick Health Coalition said it hopes the new pilot will prevent further deaths like the one in July, but remains concerned about the larger recruitment and retention issue.

“Of course, this is a temporary solution, because it is good that people who go to the hospital and wait for triage are taken care of, but the main problem remains,” said coalition chairman Bernadette Landry.

She said that healthcare workers deserve better than the system they work in. She believes that more attention should be paid to removing barriers to the employment of medical workers.

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“We need to remove all existing barriers,” she said.

The Department of Health said in a statement that it is “delighted to see Horizon’s efforts like this to better serve people who visit the emergency room.”

“Of course, there is no single solution, but we hope that the right actions and the right resources can influence the system and lead to improvements for the people who rely on this system in times of need, as well as for people. who work in this system,” the statement said.

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