Central Health spent over $4M on travel nurses in less than a year

Central Health spent$4.2 million on private agency nurses between January and September of this year, CBC News has learned.

The Newfoundland and Labrador health authority, which is responsible for about 93,000 people, said as of November it had62 travel nurses on site, with 86 contracts having been completed by the same date. A spokesperson from Central Health said some nurses have completed multiple stints.

Of the $4.2 million total, $1.2 million was spent on long-term care.

• As N.L. nurses leave full-time jobs, province calls in costly private agencies

The use of private nurses skyrocketed across Canada in the last year as the health-care system struggledto retain and recruit nurses and other medical professionals.

But questions surround the level of due diligence provided by private nursing companies, after a woman in Gander allegedly faked her registered nursing qualificationsat a long-term care home this week.

Central Health said this week that Lisa Driscoll, 43, was able to work 25 shifts at Lakeside Homesdespite not having a licence.

CBC News was able to find Driscoll's name on a list of known unlicensed nursespublished in Ontario. A search of archived versions of the page show her name was there before she was hired to work at Lakeside Homes.

Driscoll, who also goes by Lisa Strickland, was convicted in 2021 of criminal negligence causing death after her four-year-old son was poisoned to death.

• Fake nurse in Gander 'incredibly upsetting' to patients, says RNU president
• Woman impersonated registered nurse at Gander long-term care home, says health authority

Central Health said Driscoll worked for a travel nursing agency, Solutions Staffing Inc., which is based in Vancouver. The company has not responded to repeated calls and emails from CBC News.

Yvette Coffey, president of the Registered Nurses' Union of Newfoundland and Labrador, has long warned of the consequences of private companieson the public health system.

"These travel nurses work side by side with registered nurses working in our public system who face enormous pressure to care for patients in communities throughout our province," said Coffey in a statement Thursday.

"They get paid twice as much or more and have actual control over their life and schedule."

Coffey saidthe regional health authorities spent $8.8 million on private travel nurses in less than one year.

Labrador-Grenfell Health hasused agency nurses in the past to fill gaps in hard-to-staff areas, like the isolated north coast. However, it was a relatively new endeavourfor the other health authorities across the province.

Agency nurses are ultimately paid with public funds, even though they work for private companies.

In a CBC Investigates piece published in July,Eastern Health said the average cost per 12-hour day worked, which variesdepending on the area of assignment, is about$1,100.

At the time, Health Minister Tom Osborne said he agreed with Coffey but called the contracts a necessityin order to keep the health-care system afloat.

In an interview in December, Central Health CEO Andre Robichaudlamented staffing challengesand said the James Paton Memorial Regional Health Centre alone hasa 40 per cent nursing vacancy rate.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador