David Coon, leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick, makes a campaign stop in Saint John on Aug. 26, 2020. (Photo: Brad Perry)
N.B. Green Party Leader David Coon said his party would focus on creating team-based medicine practices to get more New Brunswickers off the family doctor wait-list.
“There are 37,000 people across this province without a primary healthcare provider, whether a nurse practitioner or a family doctor,” Coon said. “It’s unacceptable.”
The Green’s plan to increase access involves striking a new deal that would allow family doctors to integrate with nurses, social workers, dietitians, mental health specialists, and more, who would work together to provide more specialized healthcare for each patient.
“One of the first things (a Green government) we would do is revamp the recruitment strategy so it is effective, and we successfully recruit doctors,” said Coon.
The funding of Clinic 554 in Fredericton, which provides in-clinic abortions and specializes in healthcare for LGBTQ+ residents, has been a top campaign issue, as every party except the Progressive Conservatives has said they would repeal a regulation which allows the government to not pay for in-clinic abortions in the province.
Coon says the community clinic actually provides a model for the type of healthcare providers they’d like to see built around the province.
“That’s exactly the kind of community-based clinic that should be established and available in every region of this province,” the party leader said. “Their services should be funded under Medicare, and we would make that happen.”
One other tenet of the Green’s plan is focused on getting a more equitable share of healthcare transfer payments from Ottawa.
“It’s unjust the way (transfer payments) are working now. It works for provinces like Alberta, and works against provinces like New Brunswick,” Coon said.
