Health-care staff on P.E.I. offered bonuses to keep working

Nurses and other health-care workers on P.E.I. are being offered thousands of dollars in bonuses to continue working for one year.

The province announced the $8-million retention incentive program on Monday. It is designed to stabilize the health-care workforce.

Registered nurses and nurse practitioners will get $3,500 for a one-year return in service agreement. Licensed practical nurses and paramedics will receive $3,000 and residential care workers, home support workers and patient care workers will receive $2,500.

Both full-time and part-time staff are eligible for the bonuses.

Two other retention programs are also being launched.

Through a retirement retention program, health-care workers who are eligible for retirement will be offered $5,000 to work in the system for another year.

A priority vacancy program will also be brought in to provide a further $3,000 incentive aimed at filling about 190 key vacant positions throughout the health-care system.

P.E.I. Premier Dennis King said the province is doing everything it can to attract and retain health-care workers.

"We've been focused a lot on recruitment, which is very, very important. But we also have to remember that we can't add to a system if we keep deleting from it."