Central Well being spent $4.2 million on non-public company nurses between January and September of this 12 months, CBC Information has discovered.
The Newfoundland and Labrador well being authority, which is liable for about 93,000 individuals, mentioned as of November it had 62 journey nurses on website, with 86 contracts having been accomplished by the identical date. A spokesperson from Central Well being mentioned that some nurses have accomplished a number of stints.
Of the $4.2 million complete, $1.2 million was spent on long-term care.
Using non-public nurses skyrocketed throughout Canada within the final 12 months because the health-care system struggled to retain and recruit nurses and different medical professionals.
However questions encompass the extent of due diligence supplied by non-public nursing firms, after a lady in Gander allegedly faked her registered nursing {qualifications} at a long-term care house this week.
Central Well being mentioned this week that 43-year-old Lisa Driscoll was in a position to work 25 shifts at Lakeside Properties, regardless of not having a licence.
CBC Information was capable of finding Driscoll’s identify on an inventory of identified unlicensed nurses printed in Ontario. A search of archived variations of the web page present her identify was there earlier than she was employed to work at Lakeside Properties.
Driscoll, who also goes by Lisa Strickland, was convicted in 2021 of felony negligence inflicting demise after her four-year-old son was poisoned to demise.
Central Well being mentioned Driscoll labored for a journey nursing company, Options Staffing Inc., which relies in Vancouver. The corporate has not responded to repeated calls and emails from CBC Information.
Yvette Coffey, president of the Registered Nurses’ Union of Newfoundland and Labrador, has lengthy warned of the implications of personal firms on the general public well being system.
“These journey nurses work side-by-side with registered nurses working in our public system who face huge strain to take care of sufferers in communities all through our province,” mentioned Coffey in a press release Thursday.
“They receives a commission twice as a lot or extra and have precise management over their life and schedule.”
Coffey mentioned the regional well being authorities spent $8.8 million on non-public journey nurses in lower than one 12 months.
Labrador-Grenfell Well being has used company nurses prior to now to fill gaps in hard-to-staff areas, just like the remoted north coast. Nevertheless, it was a comparatively new endeavour for the opposite well being authorities throughout the province.
Company nurses are finally paid with public funds, regardless that they work for personal firms.
In a CBC Investigates piece this summer, Japanese Well being mentioned the typical price per 12-hour day labored, which varies relying on the world of project, is about $1,100.
On the time, Well being Minister Tom Osborne mentioned he agreed with Coffey however referred to as the contracts a necessity to be able to maintain the health-care system afloat.
In an interview in December, Central Well being CEO Andrée Robichaud lamented staffing challenges, and mentioned the James Paton Memorial Regional Well being Centre alone has a 40 per cent nursing emptiness fee.
