Lauren Byrne’s daughter cried tears of joy the day her mother came home and announced she was no longer a full-time permanent nurse in rural Newfoundland.
After 13 years of dressing wounds, caring for patients, comforting families and missing a life of his own, Byrne decided to give up his pension and steady career.
Being a regular employee, she can be home for Christmas and New Years. Go to birthday parties. And keep promises.
“It’s very, you know, ‘I’m working tonight and tomorrow is the last day of school and I’m going to go home and we’re going to shoot,'” Byrne said in a recent interview.
“And then the next morning comes and there’s a sick call and there’s no one to take that spot.”
Nurses in Newfoundland and Labrador are leaving the profession at a rapid rate, with over 600 vacancies currently in place and another 900 nurses up for retirement. Byrne and another registered nurse are speaking out publicly about why they believe the current system no longer works.
Health care labor shortages have left not only the province but the country struggling with a dwindling number of nurses, prompting governments and health agencies to rely on a much more expensive option: traveling nurses.
But the union that represents nurses in Newfoundland and Labrador says it’s a dangerous precedent and will cost taxpayers more in the long run. Its leader continues to call for swift changes to mitigate the disaster.
This follows a June Statistics Canada report on the demand for labor in the national health care system, which showed that there are twice as many vacancies in the health and social care sectors this year as there were two years ago.
Nikki Parsons, a longtime nurse in rural Newfoundland, says her profession is in crisis and she’s speaking out to let the public know the realities of the situation. (NL Union of Registered Nurses)
Nicky Parsons never dreamed of retiring, but now it’s a regular thought.
But retirement will be in name only, she predicted.
“We had four nurses retire two years ago. They retired on Friday and went back to work on Monday,” said Parsons, who works as a registered nurse in rural Newfoundland.
Parsons worked through some of the most turbulent times in the 1990s, when nurses and the government were at loggerheads over staffing and pay.
But nothing, she says, compares to what she sees now: a workplace in constant crisis management, where understaffing is the norm.
Denied annual leave, nurses burn out
“It makes me angry that I can’t go in and provide the level of care that I know my patients want and expect,” Parsons said.
“And it makes me angry that I have nowhere to turn because it’s almost normal now.”
Parsons said it’s not just nurses who are understaffed. She said her hospital is regularly without janitors, registered nurses, orderlies and secretaries — all key positions that keep the health care system afloat.
But short work isn’t possible in the emergency room, says Lauren Byrne.
“We don’t know what’s coming. So we have to work for Christmas and New Years. You ask for a day off six months in advance, but there’s no one to take that day off, Byrne said.
Parsons says she speaks publicly so patients know nurses are doing the best they can with the resources they have. (NL Union of Registered Nurses)
A survey conducted in March by the provincial government and the nurses’ union found 90 per cent of registered nurses and nurse practitioners experience burnout. Sixteen percent of nurses indicated that they were considering leaving the profession for good.
Half of all registered nurses are considering leaving their position to stay temporarily.
Byrne is one of them.
“I still love the people I work with, I still love the work, and I just need it to have more autonomy over my own schedule and my life,” she said.
“I’ll work casually and put money into my own pension, but I can plan my own shifts and I’m not obliged to work a certain number of shifts.”
“slippery slope”
One short-term solution being used is private agencies that pay nurses a higher rate to travel to hospitals and facilities around the country to meet their needs.
The use of agency or traveling nurses is increasing across Canada, according to both provincial and national nursing unions. The agency’s nurses are ultimately paid with public funds, even though they work for private companies.
This is public money for a publicly funded health care system spent on private industry – Yvette Coffey
CBC News requested data from the four provincial health authorities on the use of travel nurses this year from January 1 to June 30.
Central Health said it had recruited 46 travel nurses, some of whom had completed multiple stints with the health authority. In an email, a spokesman said $410,516 has been spent so far.
Eastern Health began using private nurses in May and employs 14 nurses. The average price for a 12-hour day, which varies by field of assignment, is about $1,100. Health authorities did not provide the total costs by deadline.
The Labrador-Grenfell Health region employed 46 travel nurses at a total cost of $1,085,788.
Western Health said it has not used travel nurses until now. However, a spokesman later confirmed that the health authority had signed a contract to place nurses from the agencies at its facilities, but the nurses had not yet started work.
Byrne’s daughter dressed up as her mom for her school’s career day in early 2020. (Submitted by Lauren Byrne)
“This is public money for a publicly funded health care system being spent on private industry,” said Yvette Coffey, president of the Registered Nurses Union of Newfoundland and Labrador.
“And this is a short-term solution. It’s a slippery slope because our members want flexibility. Our members want a break. And they see that. And now we have people leaving our system to join agencies in other provinces.”
Last week, the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions and the SEIU Healthcare union called for a ban on the use of nurses by travel agencies in that province.
Coffey wants the provincial government to explain what would happen if health authority nurses left their public sector jobs to return later with a private agency — which was the case at a Manitoba hospital recently, she said.
“Compulsory shifts should be illegal”
Coffey’s calls have been echoed nationally by Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.
Silas said nurses in Canada are hanging on by a thread and the provinces and territories should not shoulder the brunt alone.
“No one is going to solve this crisis alone and there is not going to be a miracle solution. It will have to be multifaceted,” Silas said.
“So we’re not seeing much from the federal government right now, but we’re working with all the premiers to put pressure on the federal government to come to the table on health human resources.”
Linda Silas, president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, leads members in a solidarity chant outside the Fredericton Convention Center in February 2020. (Jennifer Sweet/CBC)
Silas said the focus should be on strengthening the public health sector with nurses already there.
“We have to really ask nurses to get back into the workforce, because you have to understand that a lot of nurses are retiring early or going into agencies, for example, and then working on a solid recruitment program.”
Focus on recruitment and retention
Tom Osborne, Newfoundland and Labrador’s health minister, said last week that there would be an upcoming announcement to help address the breastfeeding crisis.
He did not go into specifics.
However, a nursing think tank held in the spring came up with a list of short-term solutions, including incentives to bring back retirees, incentives to hire casuals to fill positions and help with childcare.
Osborne said he did not want the public sector to rely on travel nurses.
Provincial Health Minister Tom Osborne admits the use of nurses by travel agencies should not be the solution to the staffing crisis. (Daryl Murphy/CBC)
“I respect and appreciate the health authorities who are using creative approaches to fill the gaps. However, we need to recruit. We have to hold back,” Osborne said.
“We need civil servants in this province to fill these roles. And that’s a priority for me.”
But even though the nursing sector is on shaky ground, both Parsons and Byrne say they would do it again because of their passion for the work.
They hope with the right relief, incentives and planning it will be the medicine he needs.
Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
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