Nurses' union, N.L. government team up to address staffing shortages
'We have reached a pivotal time in nursing in our province and across the country,' says union president
The government of Newfoundland and Labrador says it's looking outside Canada address the province's nursing shortage.
Yvette Coffey, president of the Registered Nurses' Union Newfoundland and Labrador, said Tuesday that nurses and nurse practitioners have reported high rates of burnout and mental health deterioration over the course of the pandemic due to workloads and short staffs.
"We have reached a pivotal time in nursing in our province and across the country," said Coffey at a news conference Tuesday with the premier and provincial health minister. "Across the country and around the world some nurses are making the heart-wrenching decision to leave nursing all together or to retire early due to the conditions they face."
The provincial government is ushering in a $420,000 bursary program to attract internationally educated nurses to a bridging program offered by the Centre for Nursing Studies. Forty-two spots are available and the program takes 12-18 months to complete, followed by a four-month on-site practical component.
The program will allow nurses to address any requirement gaps for Canadian nursing credentials not covered by their international training.
But there are more than 600 vacant registered nursing positions across the province right now, Coffey said, making the bursary program a small part of the solution.
Finding solutions
Early next month, the provincial government is hosting a virtual think tank to consult the province's registered nurses and come up with a plan to address challenges facing the profession.
The goal is to find short-term measures to improve the workplace and the retention and recruitment of registered nurses and nurse practitioners in Newfoundland and Labrador. The provincial government is also gathering information for a report that will be used as the basis for recommendations for the new recruitment and retention office for health-care professionals.
"Collaboration is what's needed to turn the tide for nursing in Newfoundland and Labrador," Coffey said.
"For the first time ever our province will have a government office dedicated to the recruitment and retention of health-care professionals. We look forward to working with officials from this office to continue efforts to create healthier workplaces, address violence in health care and stabilize the work force."
The province is also issuing three requests for proposals this week to dig into the challenges of the nursing workforce.
One will focus on understanding the shift in the workforce including the inability to fill permanent positions. Another looks to develop a health and human resources plan to ensure the province is providing appropriate care for residents.
The final request for proposals is for a nursing core staff review to analyze core staffing methods and provide recommendations for improvement.
"As a government and as a former surgeon I understand the issues that nurses face. I've worked side by side, arm in arm with nurses every day of my life," said Premier Andrew Furey on Tuesday.
"I understand that the system was broken before the pandemic. There has been a huge exposure of gaps because of the pandemic, and I want to make sure that we're working collaboratively to ensure that we're closing those gaps."
The PC opposition says it welcomes the steps the provincial government but criticized the timing of Tuesday's announcement.
In a media release, PC Leader David Brazil noted the Liberal government already announced the request for proposals for the human resources plan in October and committed to a nursing core staffing review in 2019.
"Health-care recruiters from elsewhere in Canada continue to attract our health-care professionals elsewhere. Now there's another plan to make a plan. Patients need action today," Brazil said.
With files from Jeremy Eaton