NB Broken HealthCare

06/18/2026

Women Giving Birth on Highways and Sidewalks Is Not a Healthcare Plan

Horizon Health Network has issued what it calls "updated guidance" for expectant mothers in western New Brunswick following multiple temporary closures of maternity services at Upper River Valley Hospital.

The advice? If you go into labour and feel it is unsafe to drive to Fredericton, call 911 or proceed to the nearest emergency department.

Let's be clear: no one disputes that calling 911 during an emergency is the right thing to do. The problem is that women are finding themselves in this situation at all.

In recent months, one mother gave birth on the side of the Trans-Canada Highway while trying to reach Fredericton. Another delivered her baby on the sidewalk outside the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital after not making it inside in time.

These are not isolated incidents. They are warning signs of a healthcare system struggling to provide consistent access to essential services.

The latest closure of labour and delivery services at Upper River Valley Hospital is once again being blamed on staffing shortages. Horizon has acknowledged that similar diversions are expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

That should concern every New Brunswicker.

Families in western New Brunswick are effectively being told that the local service they rely on may not be available when they need it most. For many expectant mothers, labour is unpredictable. Adding an hour-long drive during one of the most critical moments of their lives increases stress, uncertainty, and risk.

The response cannot simply be new guidance, new advisories, or new warnings. The response must be sustainable staffing solutions that ensure mothers can safely access maternity care close to home.

Healthcare is not just about having a hospital building. It is about having the staff and services available when people need them.

When mothers are giving birth on highways and hospital sidewalks, New Brunswick should not be debating transportation plans. We should be asking why access to maternity care has become so fragile in the first place.

The women and families affected deserve more than explanations. They deserve solutions.

As an elected party, HealthCare First | NB is committed to ensuring that Upper River Valley Hospital is properly staffed and equipped to provide reliable maternity services. No expectant mother should be forced to choose between delivering on the side of a highway, in a hospital parking lot, or making a stressful journey while in labour because local services are unavailable.

Safe, accessible maternity care close to home should not be a luxury. It should be a basic expectation for every family in New Brunswick.

Learn more about HealthCare First | NB |https://www.healthcarefirstnb.ca/

06/15/2026

https://open.substack.com/pub/healthcarefirstnb/p/virtual-care-nb-launch-raises-questions?r=8akpf9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

06/14/2026

https://open.substack.com/pub/healthcarefirstnb/p/anguished-parents-doctors-in-tears?r=8akpf9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

06/11/2026

A Step in the Right Direction — But Ambulance Offload Delays Must Be Next

The Province of New Brunswick has announced a new shared-response model between Ambulance New Brunswick and Tele-Care 811 that will allow certain low-acuity 911 calls to be assessed by registered nurses rather than automatically dispatching an ambulance.

From the perspective of HealthCare First | NB, this is a positive development.

For years, our ambulance system has been under increasing pressure. Call volumes continue to rise, our population is aging, and paramedics are being asked to do more with limited resources. When ambulances are dispatched to non-urgent situations that could be safely managed through another healthcare pathway, those resources are unavailable for true emergencies.

Under the new model, some callers experiencing non-life-threatening conditions such as minor allergic reactions, general weakness, minor diabetic concerns, back pain, and other low-acuity issues may be transferred to Tele-Care 811 nurses for assessment and guidance. Ambulance New Brunswick estimates that as many as 14,000 calls per year could be redirected through this approach.

If implemented properly, this could improve response times for serious emergencies while ensuring patients still receive professional medical advice and direction.

However, while this initiative addresses one part of the problem, it does not solve one of the biggest challenges facing ambulance services in New Brunswick today: emergency department offload delays.

Across the province, ambulances routinely arrive at hospitals only to remain parked outside or inside emergency departments for hours waiting to transfer patients into hospital care. During this time, the ambulance is unavailable to respond to other emergencies, and highly trained paramedics are effectively being used as temporary hospital staff.

This practice creates a bottleneck that impacts the entire healthcare system. Even if fewer ambulances are dispatched to low-acuity calls, response times will continue to suffer if ambulances remain tied up at emergency departments for extended periods.

HealthCare First | NB believes the province should now turn its attention to eliminating ambulance offload delays. Dedicated hospital staff, improved patient flow, and accountability measures must be implemented so paramedics can return to the community as quickly as possible after delivering a patient to hospital.

The goal should be simple: keep ambulances on the road, keep paramedics available, and ensure emergency resources are ready when New Brunswickers need them most.

The new 911 diversion program is a good first step. Now it’s time to address the next obstacle that continues to strain our emergency response system.

Because an ambulance sitting in an emergency department parking lot helps no one waiting for the next 911 call to be answered.

06/09/2026

It's time!!

https://open.substack.com/pub/healthcarefirstnb/p/the-door-is-open-will-anyone-walk?r=8akpf9&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

06/09/2026

https://open.substack.com/pub/healthcarefirstnb/p/report-new-brunswick-provincial-veterinary?r=8akpf9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

"New Brunswick couldn't recruit enough doctors. Now it expects farmers to believe veterinarians will magically appear. Join our party! https://www.healthcarefirstnb.ca/

06/08/2026

https://open.substack.com/pub/healthcarefirstnb/p/new-rules-to-require-all-federally?r=8akpf9&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Federal minister says he wants to “use New Brunswick as an example”

06/07/2026

Watch out for these little ones, especially in the woods. One got me last summer, needed antibiotics.

Tick exposures triple compared to past years, data shows
The government has revealed a new tool to track tick exposure.

Author of the article:Brunswick News
Published Jun 05, 2026 • 1 minute read
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The black-legged tick, sometimes called the deer tick, is a known carrier of Lyme disease. Some may be as small as a sesame seed. BRUNSWICK NEWS ARCHIVES
Article content
The province has launched a new tool for the public to track tick exposures in New Brunswick, just in time to show this spring appears to be the worst yet – with three times the number of exposures recorded in April compared to previous years.

According to the data, there were 56 exposures between human and animals with blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks, the species known to carry Lyme disease. That compares to an average of 59 exposures in the same month in past years.

The website features a colour-coded danger map of the province that denotes higher risks of Lyme disease, as well. Currently, the highest-risk areas are in Charlotte, Saint John and Kings counties.

And the data shows bites more than doubled in those areas in April.

“As the warmer weather arrives, so, too, does the risk of encountering blacklegged ticks,” Dr. Yves Léger, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said in a news release announcing the new website tracker.

“We continue to encourage New Brunswickers to prevent tick bites by taking simple precautions.”

The website features resources on how to prevent bites, how to check for ticks and when to remove them if you are bitten.

Updated data will be released on the 15th of each month concerning tick exposures, high-risk bites, and visits to health-care professionals for suspected bites.

06/06/2026

🚨 New Brunswick’s addiction crisis is breaking our healthcare system

Ambulances are stretched. ERs are overcrowded. Municipalities are absorbing more and more of the cost — from emergency responses to policing and crisis calls.

And still, the addiction crisis is getting worse.

This is no longer just a health issue. It’s a system-wide strain affecting every patient waiting for care.

THE REALITY

• Overdose calls are rising
• Mental health wait times are months long
• Rural communities are being left behind
• Emergency services are at the limit

Every repeat overdose pulls resources away from someone else waiting for care.

A DIFFERENT APPROACH: THE 3-STEP OVERDOSE RESPONSE

1st overdose: medical care + referral to treatment

2nd overdose: case management + mandatory treatment planning

3rd overdose (within a set period): court review + possible secure treatment placement

Not punishment — intervention when the current system has failed twice before.

Compassion alone isn’t stopping the crisis.
And the current system isn’t either.

New Brunswick needs a recovery-first model that protects lives and protects healthcare capacity.

HealthCare First | NB – A New Brunswick Political Movement
https://www.healthcarefirstnb.ca/

06/05/2026

**David C**n Steps Down: New Brunswick Politics Enters a New Era**

After 14 years leading the Green Party, David C**n has announced he will step down as leader later this year.

Whether you agreed with his policies or not, C**n became one of the most recognizable figures in New Brunswick politics and helped establish the Greens as a permanent presence in the Legislative Assembly.

But the bigger story may be what comes next.

With David C**n leaving the Green leadership and the Progressive Conservatives already searching for a permanent leader, two of New Brunswick's major political parties will enter the 2028 election with new leadership. That creates a political landscape unlike any we've seen in decades.

For voters frustrated with the status quo, it means the field is wide open.

As New Brunswick continues to struggle with healthcare access, emergency room closures, doctor shortages, and long wait times, many citizens are looking beyond the traditional political options for solutions.

The next provincial election won't just be about new leaders—it will be about new ideas.

That creates an opportunity for movements like **HealthCare First | NB** to become a serious alternative voice focused on fixing the province's most urgent priority: healthcare.

What do you think? Does David C**n's departure change the political landscape for 2028?

Learn more: https://www.healthcarefirstnb.ca/

**n