Private nursing agencies could cost Canadian health-care facilities approximately $1.5 billion in 2023-24, according to a new report commissioned by the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions. The study , authored by Dr.
Joan Almost of Queen's University, examined the use of for-profit nursing agencies over the past several years. According to the report, the amount of public spending on private agencies has gone up six-fold since 2020-21, when spending was just $248 million. The $1.
5 billion for 2023-24 is projected and includes $1.3 billion that is based on available data. What are agency nurses? Most nurses employed by agencies work in hospitals (51.
6 per cent), the report says. Other examples of agency work include long-term care and personal care homes (24.5 per cent), community and home care (10.
5 per cent), and rural and remote work (4.1 per cent). Others work at outposts, clinics, public health units, correction facilities, rehab centres and other locations.
The report says agencies play "key roles in the delivery of home care and community services," but they "were never intended to fill a chronic nationwide full‐time nursing staff shortage." While agency nurses, or "travel nurses," have long existed, they were historically limited to supplying remote or underserved hospitals and clinics. However, the report says private agencies have expanded their role by recruiting registered nurses who want higher pay and more freedom to select shifts.
According to Almost, these .