The province would like to see a drop in the use of private for-profit nursing agencies in Manitoba’s health care system.
On Wednesday, the Manitoba government announced they have issued a request for proposals to help return these jobs to public nurses.
“These agencies benefited from a situation where nurses had gone too long without a contract and in frustration left the public system,” said Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara. “These for-profit companies perpetuated a cycle of burnout and mandatory overtime that hurt patients and exhausted nurses, all while they raked in revenue. While we’ve taken many steps to staff up the front lines, treat nurses with the respect they deserve and change the culture throughout the system, this is another important step. We’re saying enough is enough. It’s time to stop giving for-profit health care the advantage.”
The goal is to increase the number of public nurses working in health care and reduce mandatory overtime rates for those nurses.
The RFP will help reduce the number of contracted agencies, making sure the majority of health care funding is directed to public front-line workers and their patients.
“This is a crucial step in preventing for-profit businesses from exploiting both financial and human resources,” said Darlene Jackson, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU). “The Manitoba Nurses Union, under the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, has been advocating for this change for years.”
The province is also working alongside MNU to expand a travel nurse team that offers the flexibility that many nurses are searching for.
The nursing contract incentivizes those working with private agencies back into the public system by offering to accept them at their previous seniority level. The province has also taken steps to hold agencies accountable to patient care by ensuring they assign nurses with the right training and skills to work in whatever unit needs coverage.