The Canadian Cancer Survivor Network is once again asking questions of the parties and candidates during the New Brunswick election campaign; their responses can be found in this section.
We hope that this information will help you when you direct your concerns to your provincial representatives.
To become involved in CCSN’s political advocacy campaigns, please contact jmanthorne@survivornet.ca
Questions:
Access to healthcare:
Family doctors are the first point of contact with the healthcare system for most patients. According to the New Brunswick Medical Society, an estimated 80% of healthcare takes place in this primary care setting. And yet 50,000 New Brunswickers do not have a family doctor.
If elected, what steps will your government take to increase the availability of family doctors in New Brunswick?
Cancer Drug Formulary Listings:
New Brunswick had the longest average wait to listing a new drug for coverage under the public drug plan (1027 days in 2012). In addition, New Brunswick typically lists fewer oral oncology drugs than Nova Scotia or Newfoundland and Labrador.
If elected, will your government commit to:
a)Decrease the wait for listing new drugs for coverage under the public drug plan, and
b)Increase the number of new cancer drugs approved for public reimbursement so that all New Brunswickers have timely access to the drugs they need.
New Brunswick Green Party Response
Rish McGlynn, Moncton Sout
If elected, what steps will your government take to increase the availability of family doctors in New Brunswick?
The Green Party is a strong supporter of preventative measures and understands the need for quick and reliable access to our primary care givers. We seek to accelerate investment in community health centers. These centers would have, family doctors but nurse practitioners, social workers, therapists, dieticians, midwives and naturopaths. There is a strong connection between supporting a healthy population and therefore reducing their need for reducing the demand put on our doctors and supporting a healthy environment. Allowing cancer causing industries and practices in our province is only putting a much higher strain on our already over taxed system. Once in power I will fight to ban fracking and aerial spraying (do you think it is a coincidence that we are the only province who still allow this and that we have the highest cancer rate in the country?) Radical as some of our ideas seem I stand behind our plan to establish a health tax on junk food and direct the revenue to finance school food and wellness programs and will push to re-examine the new manditory drug plan. As someone who chooses to spend my money on good quality, healthy, organic food, massage therapy and natural medicine and have not used pharmacueticals in over 6 years I truely believe that the goverment needs to focus less on the drugs to treat the disease and more on the prevention.
a) Decrease the wait for listing new drugs for coverage under the public drug plan, and
b) Increase the number of new cancer drugs approved for public reimbursement so that all New Brunswickers have timely access to the drugs they need.
I would push for an increase in approved cancer treatments available, for those who choose the pharmaceutical approach as well as those who choose a natural route. We currently see that it is only pharmaceutical which are approved though there are many natural alternatives, which have proven to be very effective.
Another pertinent part of our platform would be our promise to expand home-care services for those who can remain in their homes with assistance financed by the savings achieved by removing them from hospital beds. We will also review the standards of care, continuing education requirements, and remuneration for home-care workers, to ensure they can provide the needed services at a fair salary.
I am choosing to wear the colours of the Green party as they believe in active public consultation and voting with your constituents. We will host many citizen assemblies, town hall meetings, and Legislative committee hearings throughout the years getting our constituents actively involved in government so I will speak for You …even if I personally do not agree, as I was elected to represent You, not myself.
New Brunswick Liberal Party Response
We strongly believe that we need to improve our primary health care delivery in New Brunswick. We agree that every New Brunswicker needs a family doctor, and our platform contains a commitment to increase the number of family doctors in New Brunswick by 50 over the course of a mandate, if elected. We also believe we can improve the primary healthcare delivery by investing in community health centres around the province; this will give more New Brunswickers access to medical services without having to resort to going to a hospital. This will be improve front line healthcare, but it will save us money, allowing us to maintain our commitment to increasing the number of family doctors and ensuring a strong, public healthcare system in New Brunswick.
We are concerned by delays in decisions being made to the formulary.
We will work with officials in the Department of Health to determine what steps can be taken to speed up this process. In terms of which drugs are covered, we will need to work with experts in the Department of Health to make those decisions.
Sincerely,
The New Brunswick Liberal Association
New Brunswick New Democratic Party Response
Question 1 response:
New Brunswick needs its own drug formulary, as opposed to using the national formulary. This would reduce wait times for the listing of new drugs for coverage under the public drug plan, while still ensuring that evidence-based assessments from health professionals ensure that only scientifically-proven effective drugs are provided.
Question 2 response:
Please see above.