Dr. Pam Mansfield unimpressed by government response to doctors

One of the doctors from the Horizon Health Network who signed a letter to the province pleading for action on hospital congestion is not impressed with the government's response.

Health MinisterVictor Boudreau says the lack of beds and overcrowding in hospitals will take time to resolve, is expensive to fix and will need more study.

Dr. Pam Mansfield, president of the medical staff at the MonctonHospital, says that attitude is leading to inhumane treatment and seniors dying without dignity.

"Well, unfortunately we end up having patients who are admitted for days in the emergency room on a stretcher. We've had patients who are in their end of life stage there's no bed for them, there's no bed in the palliativecare unit, there's no bed in the hospital for them. They die in our emergency room." she says.

Mansfield says the doctors have decided to speak out to help their patients and families from having to put up with substandard conditions.

"It was very sad one day when I'm trying to talk and counselwith a patient who is dying and their family and all there is, is a thin curtain separating that patient from the next patient in the room next to them who is getting

chemotherapy for their cancer and I can't imagine what those patients and families are going through," she said.

"You know, one listening to someone die and the other one and family trying to spend that private last few hours with their family, but there is no privacy for that."

Speaking to reporters at the legislature on Tuesday, Victor Boudreau saidhe welcomedthe doctors'concerns and the province is working on short, medium and long-term solutions.

"We are looking at all that from home care,to special care homes, to nursing homes to hospitals to palliative care," he said. "The whole spectrum we need to look at it to make sure there's the proper connectivity that's proper flow of care for New Brunswickers as they age."

However, Boudreausays the solutions will cost millions every yearand the province is looking at how it can pay for them.

"Obviously those recommendations add up to millions of dollars on an annual basis. While there may be some good suggestions there, how we're going to pay for it and how we're going to assure that continum of care throughoutthe journey of a senior is what we're working on." he says.

Boudreau says keeping seniors in their homes is a priority but it will take some time.

"Because it's not a situation that corrects itself overnight," he said. "We have an aging population. We have the secondoldest population in Canada and it's going to take time.

"Ittakes approximately 18 months to build a nursing home so if that'spart of the solution obviously it's going to take some time."

Mansfield says the minister's response is disappointing.

"And it really is quite dismal seeing how our patients are living and it could be for the last months of their lives and even for patients who come in with acute care healthissues, what kind of services we're able to provide for them."

Mansfield say overcrowding conditionsthis winter and spring are the worst in her eight years practising in New Brunswick.

Mansfield says one quick initiative that would help would be to give a raise to homecare workers.

"Right now there are homecare workers who are receiving just above minimum wage so it is very hard to recruit home care workersbecause of the lack of wages," she said. "They're not paid for their time to travel to a senior's home so in Moncton sometimes we are lucky if we can get eighthours a day of care. Some days we can't because we don'thave the homecare workers weneed."

She says the problem is even worseoutside the larger cities.

"You go outside to let's say Port Elgin, well good luck trying to get homecare workers because they're not paid for their travel, they're not paid for their gas they're not compensated at all.So if you could immediately raise the wages ofthose workers, you can get skilled workers in that situation."

Mansfield says it would be a lot cheaper for the province to pay homecare workers more than keeping seniors in acute care hospitals.

She says doctors have been quiet for too long and they will now speak out more as they lobby for their patients and their families.