Union cries foul over apparent lack of sanctions against managers who rented to travel nurses

Health authority officials in Newfoundland and Labrador are under fire for renting homes to travel nurses under their management. Now, the nurses' union wants to know if they were disciplined. 

Health Minister John Hogan said in the House of Assembly Wednesday that managers were wrongfully profiting from those rentals. However, he said, there's a difference between breaching an ethics code and the criminal code.

That statement was less than satisfactory to Yvette Coffey, president of the Registered Nurses' Union of Newfoundland and Labrador. 

"I'm flabbergasted. I am frustrated beyond with what NLHS has been doing," Coffey told CBC News Thursday.

The PC opposition shared Coffey's frustration, and echoed her questions.

In the House of Assembly on Thursday, health critic Barry Petten asked Hogan how many leases between travel nurses and health authority officials were terminated, and what the consequences were for profiting.

WATCH | 'This is public money,' says MHA Barry Petten: 

PC health critic slams ‘disgraceful’ John Hogan and health managers who rented property for private gain

12 days ago

Duration 1:03

PC MHA Barry Petten chastised N.L. Health Minister John Hogan’s “non-chalant attitude” in the House of Assembly on Thursday. Hogan faced questions about whether there were any consequences related to managers wrongly profiting by renting homes to the travel nurses they supervised.

It was left unanswered. 

When asked by reporters if NLHS did anything beyond terminating leases, Hogan said he did not know, but he could get that information.

"That's outrageous," said Petten, when asked about Hogan's response. "He should know the answer. He knows which leases to cancel. So, we got a report in August, therefore you know which staff owned these homes."

Petten says someone has the answer, and the public deserves to hear it.

Questions and consequences

Coffey says if a nurse behaved unethically, the consequence would be swift, and they would be known to the union. 

"If I breach my code of ethics, I am brought before the college, a regulatory body. I am also disciplined by the health authority," said Coffey. "I run the risk of losing my licence and being able to practise as a registered nurse.

"What are the consequences for the people that had these lease agreements? Where's the transparency and who are they and where were they?"

The Office of the Auditor General, which was informed of the lease terminations, is expected to report its findings on the matter in the coming months.

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