Province wants to discharge private nursing numbers

The Manitoba government wants to reduce the reliance on private nurses in the public health care system.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the province is spending too much on private nursing.

"For profit companies are charging exorbitant amounts of money," said Asagwara.

The government is no longer allowing private nursing agencies to sign new contracts with regional health authorities. Instead, the province issued a request for proposals which it said will reduce the use of private nurses. It will also put policies and standards in place, including lower wage rates. 

"It's going to require agencies that want to hold a contract in Manitoba to play by our rules,” said Asagwara.

The province said it spent $69 million on private nursing between April and September. For the same period in 2023, it said it spent $61 million. The health minister said this money could be better used for the front line in the public system, including drawing back nurses who left for a private agency. The province said in the past, Manitoba held hundreds of contracts with more than 70 private firms. The RFP calls for a list of up to 15 contractors.

Manitoba Nurses Union President Darlene Jackson backs the plan.

"For too long we've seen resources drained to private for-profit agency," said Jackson.

The opposition, the Progressive Conservatives, said the government should look at ways to cut spending on nursing agencies. However, PC health critic Kathleen Cook said rural areas rely on agency nurses.

"I'm concerned that forcing them to abruptly stop or limit the use of agency nurses without first ensuring that there is adequate public staffing in place is going to have a negative impact," said Cook.

The province said current contracts between the health authorities and private agencies will remain in place until they lapse.

One union felt its members were left out of the announcement. Manitoba Government and General Employees Union (MGEU) President Kyle Ross said private contracts are also impacting health care aides and their patients.

"I think they would have been like to have been heard on this; it was a bargaining issue for us as well so we would have liked to have been in the release because it's a problem as well,” said Ross.

A spokesperson for the province said they know health care aide agency use is a challenge, and they’re trying to address agency use one step at a time.