New Brunswick doctors announce roundtable discussion on senior care

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FREDERICTON – Doctors in New Brunswick are planning to hold a roundtable discussion in September to address issues around senior care in the province.

The Canadian Medical Association and the New Brunswick Medical Society are inviting representatives from government, health care and patient groups to share input on how to care for the province’s aging population at the roundtable scheduled for Sept. 22.

Organizers say New Brunswick’s population is tied for being the oldest in Canada.

Dr. Chris Simpson of the Canadian Medical Association says the province is struggling to meet the health needs of its seniors.

“As someone who leads doctors around the country, I point often to New Brunswick as being the canary in the coal mine of what we know will occur in other provinces,” Simpson said in a news release on Monday.

Simpson says the situation in New Brunswick demonstrates the need for federal leadership on senior care.

Last week the province announced a summit for October aimed at tackling the issue of seniors being kept in hospitals while awaiting placement in nursing homes or other care.

“Seniors living in hospital who don’t want or need to be there pose a challenge to emergency rooms, surgery wait times and physician recruitment,” Dr. Camille Haddad of the New Brunswick Medical Society said in a release.

The roundtable in September is expected to discuss provincial health care solutions as well as the need for a national strategy for seniors.