UNB economist suggests shift to team-based care

The Vaughan Chair in regional economics at UNB believes the job shortage is a result of policies introduced in the 80s and 90s aimed at cutting healthcare costs. On the nursing side, he adds, the pandemic increased workloads, leading to high rates of retirement and exits and enrolment in nursing schools was high enough to compensate for the outflow. Some experts suggest a move toward a team-based approach to care that ensures healthcare professionals can work at their skill level. This would mean relieving doctors of tasks nurses or pharmacists could take on while having nurses only doing work that requires nursing training. Experts are also calling on provinces to develop a plan to address today's healthcare problems, including outlining a health HR strategy. In response to Ont. considering healthcare privatization as a solution, the UNB economist says privatization in this context refers to the delivery of services, not how the services are paid for. He also warns more funding won't solve the underlying issue, which is how workers are allocated within the system.