Achi news desk-
The Horizon Health Network released its fourth Report to Our Communities on Wednesday, highlighting projects underway across the New Brunswick health authority to improve recruitment and retention of health care workers and patient care.
The health authority says its four priority areas are:
- access to services
- recruitment and retention
- patient flow
- the patient experience
“Horizon has been working tirelessly on our Critical Action Plan to improve health care in New Brunswick. This plan focuses on retention and recruitment efforts, as well as improving the overall patient experience by addressing patient flow and access to services,” the report read.
According to a news release from Horizon, 54 improvement projects are underway across regional hospitals, community sites, departments and programs.
“These strategic initiatives – developed and implemented with direct input from doctors, staff and community partners – reflect the rapid steps Horizon has taken to address ongoing challenges in the care system health,” said Margaret Melanson, president and CEO of Horizon, in the statement.
“Many of these are driven by increased demands for accelerated services from a rapidly aging population in New Brunswick and global competition for doctors and health care workers.”
The report highlights the addition of 2,303 new Horizon employees in the 2023-24 financial year, which includes more than 900 nurses and 150 doctors.
In terms of patient experience, the health authority says patients can now book their own X-ray appointments at Horizon hospitals and will soon be able to book their own blood and specimen appointments as well.
In addition, Horizon says:
- there was an increase of over 700 hip and knee operations compared to the previous year
- new cataract clinics increased operating capacity by 690 cases
- 368 orthopedic cases were completed in the Upper River Valley as a result of additional operating room space provided by moving cataract surgery clinics out of the hospital
- The Fredericton Urgent Treatment Center expanded services to three days a week, reducing the number of patients seeking care in the emergency department of Dr. Everett Chalmers
The full report can be found here.
