Horizon hospitals ‘as prepared as we can be’ for holiday rush: CEO

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The head of Horizon Health Network says she’s as “confident as possible” about the ability of her hospitals to meet increased patient demand expected over the holidays in the face of ongoing bed shortages and “high levels” of flu activity.

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Horizon activated its “winter surge” plan in September – two months earlier than the previous two years – to get ahead of an anticipated surge in respiratory illness.

Experts have warned that Canada could face a tougher flu season due to the early spread of an aggressive influenza strain and potential mismatches with the current vaccine.

Horizon is already seeing “high levels” of flu activity across its emergency departments, with “moderate levels” of COVID activity and “fairly low levels” of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity being reported at this time, according to Margaret Melanson, president and CEO of the regional health authority.

In addition to pressure caused by the respiratory illness season, Horizon continues to contend with pressure from the sheer number of alternate level of care patients.

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Almost 40 per cent of Horizon’s acute care beds are currently occupied by ALC patients, Melanson told reporters Wednesday.

These patients have been medically discharged, but they remain in hospital awaiting long-term care placement or access to community services to be able to return home safely.

As a result of the bottleneck, as of Tuesday, Horizon had 199 “unfunded” beds – beds situated in hospital offices, hallways and storage closets – to meet patient demand across its hospitals. That figure had been 190 at the end of October.

According to Horizon data, all four of Horizon’s regional hospitals are overcapacity. Occupancy rates are currently 108 per cent at Fredericton’s Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital, 107 per cent at The Moncton Hospital, 106 per cent at the Saint John Regional Hospital, and 100 per cent at the Miramichi Regional Hospital.

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When asked if Horizon was prepared to handle an expected holiday increase of patients due to the spread of respiratory illness and less walk-in clinic availability, Melanson told reporters that she was feeling “as confident as possible.”

“We always know within the health-care system, we are prone to emergency situations,” she said at a virtual press conference. “None of us can predict traumatic accidents or other sorts of situations that might actually create a surge of individuals coming on an emergency basis to our facilities.

“However, we try as far as possible to be staffed, to be prepared, to have our communication channels and to have everyone basically on alert to be able to respond as quickly as possible.”

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In past holiday seasons, Horizon has grappled with increased patient volumes and long wait times in its emergency departments.

Melanson laid out Wednesday how Horizon has planned for potential increased demand on its emergency departments this year, noting the regional health authority is “as prepared as we can be.”

Horizon’s “winter surge” plan includes “augmented” staffing within the emergency departments to monitor waiting rooms and to ensure ambulances are offloaded as quickly as possible, Melanson said.

“It also really involves all of our services, so it involves our diagnostic services, ensuring we have staffing as far as possible available and even augmented,” she said, adding there’s also a “robust plan” to ensure patient flow through the hospital system.

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No changes yet to ER patient volumes from ‘new’ clinics

Earlier this month, the Holt government surpassed its target of establishing and supporting 10 collaborative care clinics in 2025.

The Liberals campaigned last fall to create “at least” 30 clinics during their mandate if elected.

These clinics are part of the Holt government’s plan to reduce patient load on the province’s emergency departments.

A recent auditor general’s report highlighted the pressures these departments have been facing for years.

Only one-third of emergency department patients were seen by a doctor within the appropriate timeframe per national guidelines, according to the auditor general’s recent report, which analyzed almost 1.5 million visits between April 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2024, to arrive at that conclusion.

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Melanson told reporters that the collaborative care announcements have yet to result in “measurable changes” to the number of patients turning to Horizon’s emergency departments for non-urgent medical needs.

“We still continue to have presentations in our emergency departments of lower-acuity patients, up to potentially 30 per cent, and so I would say in the coming months I’m hopeful that those numbers will start to reduce as those clinics are able to address the patients that are currently unattached without a care provider,” Melanson said.

Horizon’s North End Wellness Centre in Saint John became the 11th operation to be funded under the Holt government’s collaborative care initiative. The funding will allow for the expansion of the clinic in a new space.

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About 2,000 patients could taken off the primary care waitlist through the clinic’s expansion, but that figure is based on recruiting two new primary care providers to the practice.

Health Minister John Dornan has cautioned that communities won’t “see the fruits of our labour on the day the clinic is announced.” Often, work has to continue behind the scenes to open the expanded or new clinic.

During Wednesday’s press conference, Melanson urged New Brunswickers to consider their care options for their non-urgent medical needs over the holiday season. She suggested eVisitNB, walk-in clinics, Tele-Care 811 and pharmacists as options to get medical advice or treatment.

For those who need to go into emergency departments, Melanson asked for patience and kindness to be directed at health-care staff.

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“I know that when people are sick or worried about a loved one or frustrated about long wait times, emotions can run high, but a simple gesture of courtesy, a moment of patience, can make a meaningful difference to someone who’s working long hours under difficult circumstances to help you,” she said.

“As we head into the holiday season, I’m asking all New Brunswickers to be kind to their health-care teams. They’re doing their absolute best under extremely challenging conditions.”

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story provided an inaccurate number of ‘unfunded’ beds based on data supplied by Horizon Health Network. In fact, as of Tuesday, Horizon had 199 “unfunded” beds – beds situated in hospital offices, hallways and storage closets – to meet patient demand across its hospitals.

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