Saskatchewan nurses frustrated over ‘reliance’ on contract nursing

Saying they feel undervalued, nurses at a Saskatoon hospital are speaking out about the reliance Saskatchewan’s health-care system has come to have on contract nurses.

Those nurses — who sometimes are referred to as “travel nurses” — are hired through agencies, usually from out of province, and often at a much higher pay than local nurses. They also have expenses like travel and food paid for as well.

Forty-nine local nurses signed a letter from St. Paul’s Hospital, expressing their frustration over the situation.

“The agency nurses discuss their wages which range from ninety to one hundred and thirty dollars per hour, nearly triple the hourly wage of the home based nurse,” the letter read.

“Beyond the difference in wage, as we scrape our windows in 40 below weather and shiver as we warm our vehicles, the agency nurse is picked up in a toasty warm Uber and dropped at a residence that has been provided for them to have a meal that they are compensated for.”

The letter says the staff is feeling frustrated and many are resentful toward the concept of contract nursing. It also talks about local staff not being able to pick up extra shifts because they’re available or offered to the contract nurses first.

“The number of agency nurses employed by the department is steadily increasing and although we have had those who fit in well, several do not have the skills that are necessary to work in an emergency department,” read the letter.

It goes on to say that local staff have to pick up the slack for the contract nurses who are unfamiliar with the facility or procedures.

“When we can find ways to attract agency nurses and keep them coming back, why can we not find ways to retain our own nurses?” the letter asked.

The Saskatchewan NDP took the letter to the Legislature this week, saying the party is concerned about the government’s and Saskatchewan Health Authority’s (SHA) over-reliance on contract nurses.

“Yes, out-of-province contract nurses have played a valuable role, and we appreciate the effort that they have put in to helping Saskatchewan people, but this government is becoming increasingly reliant on out-of-province contract nurses, and we think that’s wrong,” said Jared Clarke, the NDP’s rural and remote health critic.

“It just speaks to the fact that (the government’s) health-care recruitment plan isn’t working.”

Reading the nurses’ letter, Clarke said he doesn’t think the health minister is listening to nurses.

Last year, 242 contract nurses were used by the province, costing about $59 million. In the current year, the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) estimates contract nurses will cost the province $70 million.

Health Minister Everett Hindley admits the use of contract nurses has been increasing and it’s something he wants to get away from because it is costing a “significant” amount of money.

He pointed to the Health Human Resources Action Plan launched in 2022, saying government is trying to build capacity in the health-care workers’ realm by increasing training seats in the province and hiring more nurses.

“But in the meantime, (we’re) trying to balance the need for filling those vacancies over time and making sure that the existing staff do have the ability to have time off for, whether it’s holidays or sick days, and sometimes that requires the use of travel (contract) nurses,” said Hindley.

The minister believes the HHR plan is working but more work needs to be done.

He said he can empathize with the concerns brought up by the nurses in the St. Paul’s Hospital letter.

“I understand where they’re coming from. That’s why, again, we don’t want to be relying on contract nurses (and) on travel nurses. We want to try to phase out that reliance as quickly as we can,” said Hindley.

When it comes to picking up extra shifts, Hindley said that goes to human resources, but he planned to talk to the SHA about what can be done to address those concerns.