Emergency room wait times in New Brunswick continue to grow, according to a new report from a Quebec think-tank.
The Montreal Economic Institute finds that patients typically waited around four hours and 28 minutes last year.
That was about 26 minutes longer than the previous year and nearly an hour longer than four years ago.
“These long wait times are not just numbers — they represent real Canadians who face delays in receiving critical care that cause needless pain or distress,” said Emmanuelle B. Faubert, an economist at the MEI and author of the report.
“In all the provinces, wait times are worse today than they were five years ago, a clear sign that our healthcare systems are struggling to provide their patients with timely access to care.”
Patients at Horizon Health facilities faced the longest median length of stays at four hours and 51 minutes, compared to three hours and 21 minutes for Vitalité Health facilities.
The Moncton Hospital had the longest wait time at seven hours and 22 minutes. That was followed by the Saint John Regional Hospital (six hours and 37 minutes), Fredericton’s Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital (six hours and 25 minutes) and Moncton’s Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre (five hours and 54 minutes).
“Having to spend long hours waiting in an emergency room may be the norm in New Brunswick, but in other developed countries, it isn’t,” said Faubert.
“It’s clear that solving the issue of long wait times requires looking at best practices from abroad, such as Europe’s mixed systems, to finally give patients the timely access they deserve.”
Across Canada, the median length of stay ranges from two hours and 45 minutes in Newfoundland and Labrador to five hours and 23 minutes in Québec.
