Health Minister Dorothy Shephard speaks during a COVID-19 briefing on July 15, 2021. (Image: CPAC video capture)
A severe nursing shortage in New Brunswick has led to service reductions at some hospitals this summer.
Health minister Dorothy Shephard says the challenges facing the system due to a lack of nurses won’t necessarily end by the fall.
“If we have to alter surgical schedules, we’re going to go to the front lines and ask them how we do this. If we have to alter an ER schedule for a short amount of time, we’re going to ask our front line workers, how do we deal with this situation?”
Shephard says enrolments in nursing programs have been falling in recent years and nursing shortages are not just a New Brunswick problem.
She says the province has been accelerating its recruitment of international nurses.
“From years previous… single digits, under ten per year (have been recruited). This year we are at 72. So we’re not standing still, we’re moving forward.”
Shephard adds both the Horizon and Vitalite Health Networks have each recently hired about 100 nursing students.
