Nurses to be moved into new roles to address staffing gaps, province says

Savannah Awde · CBC News

· Posted: May 09, 2025 4:47 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Some nurses volition beryllium asked to determination into antithetic parts of the wellness system, according to the premier, successful a bid to code issues with infirmary waits and superior attraction access.

Premier Susan Holt said the determination wellness authorities person made akin shifts before — notably, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This time, she said, it's being done to code long-standing issues, noting 12-hour waits successful exigency rooms arsenic an example. 

"We request antithetic results successful health. New Brunswickers are demanding that they get timely entree to care, that they get the superior attraction that they need," Holt said.

WATCH | 'A batch of registered nurses' are impacted, Opposition person says:

"Doing things the mode we've ever done them is not going to get amended results for New Brunswickers." 

Holt did not person afloat details connected the fig of radical who would be affected by the change, oregon the specialty areas that mightiness spot less staff, but said she's alert of discussions with nationalist wellness nurses and astatine the Saint John Regional Hospital.

Vitalité Health Network did not respond to a petition for further details connected Friday. 

Horizon Health Network president and CEO Margaret Melanson sent a connection that didn't corroborate a redeployment of resources and did not accidental which unit members would beryllium affected. 

"We are committed to continuous betterment and ongoing organizational transformation, ensuring the close supplier is successful the close spot astatine the close clip to supply the champion entree and attraction acquisition possible," the connection said.

"Any clip Horizon considers changes to roles oregon squad composition, we marque each effort to lucifer opportunities with [an] individual's skills and scope of signifier and guarantee acquisition and grooming required to win successful those roles is provided. We are besides respectful of corporate agreements passim these processes." 

But Official Opposition Leader Glen Savoie said he's heard from nurses successful respective parts of the strategy who person been told they volition person to work in a different area. 

"I would reason that determination are a batch of registered nurses successful nationalist health, assemblage health, intelligence health, who are each being impacted. Extramural, each of these antithetic facets," Savoie said.

"We don't person large-scale numbers yet, but we're continuing to analyse to effort and recognize the scope of it."

Savoie said the authorities is failing to pass with workers successful the strategy earlier making changes. He said the aforesaid happening is happening with acquisition staff.

"They should person talked with registered nurses, they should person talked with the radical who are doing the jobs, and say, 'How bash we get to a program wherever we tin marque these changes?' They're not doing that," helium said.

"Same happening with teachers. They're making cuts that are impacting the classroom and they won't admit it. They're making cuts present that are impacting wellness care and they won't admit it."

Savoie said he's heard from nurses who accidental they were told they would beryllium laid disconnected if they don't determination into a caller role. 

But Health Minister John Dornan said nary 1 would beryllium laid disconnected arsenic a effect of what he called a "redeployment" of resources. 

"Health attraction does often impact a redeployment," Dornan said successful question play Friday. "One of the things that we are rather arrogant of is that we are not laying our nurses off. We ever person a relation for them successful antithetic areas of our hospital."

New Brunswick Nurses Union president Paula Doucet was not disposable for an interrogation connected Friday. 

In a statement, spokesperson Alix Saulnier said the union would hold for much accusation earlier commenting.

"We person not been officially notified of immoderate workforce adjustments," Saulnier wrote. "When workforce adjustments are made, determination is simply a process to beryllium followed."