Nurses' union wary of government's recruitment claims, saying nurses still sparse on the ground

The Registered Nurses' Union is challenging the Newfoundland and Labrador government's claims that over 600 nurses have been recruited since April 2023.

Union president Yvette Coffey says the story looks very different on the ground — she's been taking in scenes of understaffed and overworked emergency rooms. The union is calling on the government to release an updated job vacancy report, as well as clear evidence that 660 positions have been filled, and exactly where they've been placed. 

Coffey has been touring the province, speaking to nurses with the public health-care system. In an interview with CBC Radio's On The Go, she said almost every clinic she visited in Labrador was staffed by travel nurses with no permanent positions filled. 

In the Happy Valley-Goose Bay emergency room, Coffey says, only two of 10 permanent positions are filled. 

Debbie Molloy, vice-president of human resources for N.L. Health Services, told CBC that there is a natural attrition of about six per cent, meaning 300-400 nurses would typically leave the system each year.

Coffey says getting the exact data and clarification to reflect recruitment numbers has been difficult.

"I do wonder if the 600 is job offers versus filled positions. Any other industry or company, you don't say a position is filled until a person is there on the ground and actually doing the work," said Coffey.

The union president told CBC that she's heard from new graduates who can't get positions because they're being held for internationally educated nurses, for example. 

"We still have an overabundance of patients who are waiting for long-term care who are in the hospitals," said Coffey. "We still have emergency departments that are overrun with patients … and we still have a lot of vacancies that we see on the job boards.

"Getting accurate data is very difficult. And to make a statement that there are 660 nurses recruited without backing that up with actual data, that's very misleading to the public," Coffey said.

Molloy says all 600 nurses are working in the system, but some of them may be in orientation before they're actually working on the ground. She did not provide an exact number of nurses in orientation.

"We are a 24/7 operation … so if somebody is off on a leave, they have to be replaced. So, there are absolutely still vacancies within our system," Molloy said.

There are currently over 450 nursing vacancies outside of casual positions, says Molloy. She also mentioned that the health-care system is expanding, so this year's numbers might not necessarily compare to last year.

According to Coffey, the union requested a vacancy update last month and were assured they'd get one. A month passed without receiving that report, and the union was told again and again that the government was still in the process of analyzing, she said.