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811 Callback Waits Went From 12 Minutes to Almost Four Hours

After the switch to Virtual Care NB, the average wait for a Tele-Care 811 nurse to call back hit 3 hours 49 minutes in August, the Department of Health says. One Fredericton caller waited more than eight hours.

Closing card: 811 callback waits went from 12 minutes to almost four hours, with a bar chart of average callback waits: 12 minutes before the switch, 2 h 53 min in July, 3 h 49 min in August and 3 h 18 min in September

Hilary Quigley called Tele-Care 811 about a new symptom last week. It took more than eight hours for a nurse to call her back.

The nurse told her to go to a clinic. The clinics near her in Fredericton had already closed, and the online clinic the nurse mentioned had no openings. She waited until Monday for care, CTV News reported.

"I couldn't do anything. I felt completely overlooked," Quigley said.

From 12 minutes to hours

New Brunswick's Department of Health told CTV that the average wait for an 811 nurse to call back used to be 12 minutes. After the province moved from eVisitNB to Foundever's Virtual Care NB on June 30, it climbed:

  • July: 2 hours 53 minutes
  • August: 3 hours 49 minutes
  • September: 3 hours 18 minutes

The department says 65 per cent of calls were resolved within minutes on first contact. Callers wait for a callback only when no nurse is free right away.

The department's explanation

"Higher than normal call volumes in July and August, including increased demand related to Virtual Care NB, contributed to longer callback times," department spokesperson Tara Chislet said in an email.

"In response, several improvements were implemented to streamline access, including new self-service options for prescription refills, lab requisitions and follow-up appointments. Call volumes began to stabilize in late September."

'They're going to the ER'

Tele-Care 811 is one of two entry points to Virtual Care NB, along with an online symptom checker. The line also tells callers whether they need an emergency room.

Shelley Petit, chair of the New Brunswick Coalition of Persons with Disabilities, warns that long waits will push people into emergency departments that are already struggling.

"If you're sitting at home, and it's your child that is sick, are you going to wait four hours? No. So where are they going? They're going to the ER," Petit told CTV.

Quigley said routing people through a phone call puts "barriers in place for some folks that might not have access or have the means in order to do that."

A 'seamless transition'

Before the switch, Health Minister John Dornan promised a "seamless transition." "We're putting it all together so you get the right care at the right time, in the right place," he said in June.

Dornan did not make himself available to CTV for its story.

We covered the rocky first weeks of the new service in July: From 600 Patients a Day to 50: Anatomy of New Brunswick's Virtual Care Fumble.

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