N.B. cuts will hurt health recruiting: doctor

The head of the New Brunswick Medical Society says suspending signing bonuses for new doctors will send a chill through medical schools.

The government announced $42.9-million in spending cuts Thursday, including the suspension until Aprilof all subsidies, bursaries and incentives for nurse practitioners, allied health professionals, and physicians. Health officialssay holding off on those perks, including re-location allowances, will save about $600,000.

Dr. Allison Kennedy, the medical society's president, said any new recruitment has been stopped in its tracks because of the suspension of signing bonuses. He added,New Brunswick has a critical shortage of doctors.

"I really don't think that we can afford even to take three months out of our recruitment efforts,"said Kennedy. "There's a lot of people in communities that are working hard to recruit physicians. We're short of nurses and other health care practitioners. We have to be full speed ahead with this."

Kennedy said it's a bad message to send out to medical students who are considering a move to New Brunswick.

He also didn't like talk ofde-insuring some elective medical procedures. Kennedy said most of the procedures that could be cut have already been cut, and not much else can be changed without compromising patient care.