September 20

FREDERICTON - This morning, Green Party leader David Coon announced his plan to invest $380 million annually to fix the primary healthcare system in New Brunswick.

“Everyone should have a right to access a primary healthcare team in their community,” said Coon. “There is no doubt that fixing this broken system will be a challenge and will require a generational investment, but I’m up to the task of getting it done.  We will eliminate waiting lists and we will bring our nurses home.”

funding to fix the recruitment, retention and training issues for doctors and nurses in the provinces. These changes address calls made by the NB Medical Society, NB Nurses Union and the province’s health authorities. Over the course of a four year term, a Green government would:

• Invest $100 million annually to fund 70 collaborative family practice teams to cover the incomes of nurse practitioners, nurses and other allied health professionals joining these teams. 
• Establish a downtown community health centre in Moncton to serve vulnerable populations, as already exists in Fredericton and Saint John.
• Establish new team-based community health centres in regions where access to primary health care cannot be met by collaborative family practice teams.
• Invest $170 million annually to bring nurses’ salaries and benefits in line with those in Nova Scotia and PEI to bring nurses home and retain those working here.
• Establish a program to provide free tuition bursaries for medical school and nursing school students who sign a contract to work in New Brunswick for at least five years after graduation.
  
  

“Blaine Higgs is being reckless by letting our healthcare system crumble while promising to cut government revenue by $450 million with cuts to the HST,” said Coon. “I am committed to making smart, strategic investments in our public services, such as our healthcare system, so it meets the needs of New Brunswickers today and for the future.” 

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