A memo obtained by CBC News says Tracey Burkhardt, the division’s executive director of planning, alignment and engagement, and Jeff McCarthy, the executive director of eHealth innovation and services, “have left the Department.” Helen Delange, a senior policy adviser, also left, according to the memo from Deputy Secretary Eric Beaulieu. Meanwhile, Jennifer Elliot, assistant secretary of state for public health and integrated community care from August 2021, has been demoted to executive director of public health, a less senior role. In the memo, Beaulieu said “a revised organizational structure” is being finalized for the department and will be presented to staff on Aug. 22. He said the new structure and approach “are intended to focus efforts on initiatives that will bring the most benefits to citizens, staff and the system as a whole.”
Previous sweeping changes
The changes come four weeks after Prime Minister Blaine Higgs replaced his health secretary, sacked the CEO of Horizon Health and replaced the boards of the Horizon and Vitalité health authorities with administrators. In a series of tweets on Friday that did not mention the latest layoffs, Higgs said “changes in the governance model” of the two health authorities – which he described last month as temporary – would allow reforms to be accelerated. This would allow ideas from front-line staff to “rapidly rise to the level of strategic decision-making” so that they can be piloted and implemented. The move comes four weeks after Prime Minister Blaine Higgs sacked his own health minister and the CEO of Horizon Health. (Pat Richard/CBC) “Unlocking the wisdom of these professionals is key to driving the change we need,” he wrote. Earlier this week, Fredericton emergency department doctor Yogi Sehgal said he sent Higgs a 10-page report on problems at the province’s hospitals and possible solutions. He said in an interview that he had seen no improvement since the first round of prime ministerial layoffs and changes on July 15. On Thursday, the New Brunswick Medical Society issued a statement saying many doctors are experiencing “severe exhaustion and burnout” and the system needs more doctors and more health care spending. But in his Twitter thread on Friday, Higgs said his government had already “funded the change we need” with a $168.5 million increase in the health budget this year, the biggest since 2008-09. In a statement later in the day, the premier said investment in health is “clearly necessary and we’re doing just that, but the investment needs to be in services that serve (provide care) New Brunswickers in a positive way, not services that don’t produce the right results.” He thanked the doctors for their suggestions, saying “they know better than anyone that the system needs to change. As prime minister, I am committed to making those changes happen.” He also said that doctors mostly practice in silos and that needs to change because it prevents an efficient system.
