Patients awaiting placement in a nursing home at Moncton Hospital must now accept the first available bed offered to them, regardless of their initial preference. Previously, these patients could decline a nursing home bed and continue staying in the hospital until a spot opened up at their preferred facility. Referred to as alternate level of care (ALC) patients, they currently occupy 36% of Horizon Health Network’s bed capacity across the province.
Horizon’s CEO, Margaret Melanson, announced that starting in January, patients are now required to transition to a nursing home bed within a certain proximity once one becomes available. Although the exact distance was not specified, patients may be relocated anywhere from 50 to 100 kilometers away from the hospital. To date, six patients in the Moncton area have already been moved to the first available nursing home bed.
Despite this change being implemented solely at Moncton Hospital presently, Horizon is advocating for a policy revision at the provincial level to extend this strategy to other locations. Melanson emphasized the importance of patients and families understanding the benefits of accepting an available nursing home bed within a reasonable geographic range for improved care.
The shift in policy aims to address the issue of ALC patients occupying a significant portion of hospital beds, with 27% of beds at Moncton Hospital being utilized by such patients. Additionally, the hospital has been consistently operating above capacity, reaching 112% occupancy in January.
Susan Harley, Horizon’s board chair, highlighted the challenges posed by holding patients in areas not intended for clinical care due to inadequate coordination and accountability across government departments. She stressed the necessity for change to sustain high-quality and safe patient care.
Both Harley and Melanson have urged the province to update its policies to enable a no-refusal approach in all Horizon hospitals. While the province supports the initiative, the decision on whether to revise Social Development’s policy remains pending. Minister Lyne Chantal Boudreau acknowledged the critical state of hospitals and emphasized the need for balancing patient choice with the current healthcare challenges.
