Union sounds alarm over surge in use of travel nurses
CTV
The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) is sounding the alarm over the number of travel nurses being utilized in the province.
The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) is sounding the alarm over the number of travel nurses being utilized in the province.
Those are temporary nurses hired to fill gaps in service, but the increasing number of them with no end in sight is the issue.
Having too many temporary nurses is a flawed system, according to the president of SUN.
“The damage it does to the healthcare system is significant. There’s no stability in a workplace that has to constantly rely on an agency nurse to come in to fill positions,” Tracy Zambory told CTV News.
She calls them agency nurses because they are hired by an independent agency, contracted to fill positions where needed throughout the province.
Zambory says the problem with the temporary travel nurses is multi-layered.
“There’s all the other expenses that these nurses are able to accumulate as they work so it’s costing the health authority an extreme amount of money,” she said.
