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<\/p>\nThe New Brunswick government released a strategy with six priorities for improving the province\u2019s health-care system Wednesday, but Health Minister John Dornan said one in particular stands out for him.<\/p>\n
That’s making sure everyone in the province has a family doctor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf everybody in New Brunswick had access to primary care so that they stayed well, did not get sick, did not need to go to the hospitals, I think we will have accomplished what I want to do in the time that I work with this government,\u201d Dornan said at the news event in Saint John.<\/p>\n
The Holt government has made the establishment of collaborative-care clinics a centrepiece of this effort.<\/p>\n
It has established six of them to date, with a target of adding at least four more by the end of the year. By 2028, the government has promised to have at least 30 collaborative-care clinics in place across the province.<\/p>\n
WATCH | Plan had input from health-care workers, Holt says:<\/p>\n
Premier Susan Holt unveils a 5-year health-care plan for New Brunswick<\/p>\n
The Liberal government\u2019s extensive plan to improve the province\u2019s health-care system includes commitments ranging from better cancer screening to a 50-bed treatment facility. <\/p>\n
Depending on the needs of the community where the clinic is located, there will be a mix of health-care professionals like doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses and mental health specialists.<\/p>\n
Currently, only 77 per cent of New Brunswickers have a primary-care provider. In the state of the province address that outlined the Holt government’s priorities back in January, Dornan said the goal was to 79 per cent by the end of this year and 85 per cent by 2028<\/a>.<\/p>\n Collaborative-care clinics making a difference?<\/p>\n Dornan, a doctor and former CEO of the Horizon Health Network, said provincial officials don\u2019t yet have data to measure their efforts to date, but he is hearing that the new clinics are making a difference.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are getting attached to family doctors,\u201d Dornan said. \u201cWe get telephone calls, emails \u2014people that are waiting, but also people that are being attached \u2014 and they’re quite thankful. People have been on the waiting list for years and now they’re being picked up by some of the clinics that we’ve announced. <\/p>\n “This is not all down the road. It’s occurring today.\u201d<\/p>\n The six priority areas unveiled on Wednesday at the Saint John Regional Hospital were primary care, workforce, seniors, urgent care, mental health and addictions, and connected services.<\/p>\n Premier Susan Holt said the elements of the five-year plan, Caring for New Brunswick<\/a>, are all about patients being able to receive effective, timely care.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of these pieces are focused on making sure people are getting the right care at the right place, from the right person at the right time,\u201d Holt said.<\/p>\n Seniors next priority for minister<\/p>\n Dornan said his next-highest priority is \u201crespectful care” for seniors.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1759958710_703_default.jpg\")
Premier Susan Holt says the new five-year health plan is about people receiving effective, timely care. (Graham Thompson\/CBC)<\/p>\n