Vitalité calling for hospital patients in Bathurst to be fast-tracked into nursing homes

Katelin Belliveau · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 17, 2025 3:44 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

A time aft the Department of Social Development agreed to fto definite Horizon Health infirmary patients leap the enactment to get into nursing homes, Vitalité is asking for the aforesaid for patients successful Bathurst.

Vitalité Health Network said Thursday it submitted a petition to the department, asking that patients successful Chaleur Regional Hospital get precedence for nursing location beds, according to an email sent to Radio-Canada.

"Occupancy rates stay supra the threshold of what is considered safe," Dr. France Desrosiers, the network's CEO and president, wrote successful French. "Our extremity is to marque definite that a furniture is rapidly disposable for each idiosyncratic who needs acute care."

In an emailed statement, the section said it is in talks with Vitalité "about the captious authorities admissions process for prospective nursing location residents successful their determination hospitals and is advising connected adjacent steps."

The connection did not supply specifics.

This comes 2 days aft Horizon Health made a akin plea to the province, saying that hospitals successful Fredericton, Saint John, Miramichi and Waterville are particularly struggling to support up with a captious authorities of overcapacity.

On Wednesday, Social Development granted the Horizon request and committed to bumping patients presently successful hospitals to the apical of nursing location hold lists for the adjacent 30 days.

• N.B. infirmary patients volition leap the enactment for nursing homes

Both networks person said the proportionality of patients who don't beryllium successful hospitals is affecting the harmless transportation of wellness attraction to others, including successful exigency rooms. People who request to get into hospitals person been stuck successful ERs, taking up beds there, due to the fact that infirmary beds are full.

Vitalité's petition focuses connected admissions coming from the Chaleur hospital, located successful Bathurst, wherever it said the request for much businesslike diligent travel is great.

"Currently, about 47 per cent of beds astatine the Chaleur Regional Hospital are occupied by patients awaiting an alternate level of care," Desrosiers wrote successful the email successful French. 

The francophone web has seen a patient's mean magnitude of enactment crossed its hospitals alteration from 65 days past year, to 58.5 days this year, and "our infirmary occupancy complaint is present beneath 100 per cent," according to the email.

"Despite this progress, the concern is tying up important resources, hinders the hospital's quality to connection acute care, leads to overflow and prolongs exigency country hold times."