Horizon Reaches New Record for Hospital Bed Blockage

New Brunswick's healthcare system has reached another troubling milestone.

According to Horizon Health Network, 722 acute care hospital beds were occupied by Alternate Level of Care (ALC) patients as of mid-June, representing approximately 42 per cent of all acute care beds within the health authority. These are patients who have been medically discharged from hospital but remain there because there is nowhere appropriate for them to go.

The number has since declined slightly, but Horizon officials say the problem continues to worsen. In fact, current ALC numbers are now routinely double what Horizon considers manageable.

For years, healthcare leaders have warned that overcrowded hospitals are being driven not only by emergency room demand but also by a growing shortage of long-term care options. When patients who no longer require hospital treatment cannot access nursing homes, special care homes, or other community supports, they remain in acute care beds. This creates a ripple effect throughout the system, contributing to emergency room congestion, ambulance offload delays, postponed surgeries, and longer wait times for patients needing hospital admission.

Greg Doiron, Horizon's Vice-President of Clinical Operations, reported that approximately 330 patients could leave hospital immediately if long-term care beds were available.

The provincial government's long-term care plan is expected to add 240 new long-term care beds across New Brunswick in 2027, with about half of those beds located within Horizon's service area. While Horizon officials acknowledge this will help, they also warn that population aging and growing demand may quickly outpace the new capacity being added.

From a HealthCare First | NB perspective, this announcement highlights what many New Brunswickers already know: our healthcare crisis extends far beyond hospitals. Building more nursing home and special care home capacity must become a top provincial priority. Every hospital bed occupied by someone waiting for long-term care is a bed unavailable to a patient who truly needs acute medical treatment.

The solution requires a comprehensive approach that includes expanding long-term care beds, increasing home care services, improving recruitment and retention of healthcare workers, and creating innovative housing and support options for seniors.

Healthcare does not begin and end at the hospital door. Until New Brunswick addresses the entire continuum of care, overcrowding will continue to strain our hospitals and impact patient care across the province.

To learn more about HealthCare First | NB and our healthcare reform priorities, visit www.healthcarefirstnb.ca.