Nursing needs 'still as great' as 2022, when use of travel nurses started, says Vitalité CEO

The severe staffing shortage that prompted Vitalité Health Network to pay a private agency about $158 million to hire out-of-province nurses in 2022 is just as bad now as it was then, according to the CEO.

Dr. France Desrosiers made the comment in a written statement issued Friday — her second statement this week amid criticism of the high cost to taxpayers for these so-called travel nurses and the fact they're paid roughly six times what New Brunswick nurses earn.

"The gradual reduction in agency services has been planned and has begun, but it would be impossible to do without them completely right now, given the immediate needs that are still as great as they were in 2022," she said.

At the same time, Desrosiers said the number of new hires has exceeded the number of departures since June 2022, which will enable Vitalité to gradually phase out the use of agency services by winter 2026.

Desrosiers declined an interview Friday and a spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request to clarify.

Dr. France Desrosiers, CEO of Vitalité Health Network, urged New Brunswickers to turn their 'focus to the future,' in a written statement Friday. 'Let’s learn from the past and, together, prepare for the future of health care.' (Gilles Boudreau/Radio-Canada)

In 2022, the staffing situation was "critical" because of the departures and early retirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Desrosiers — "to the point where we were facing imminent emergency department and even facility closures."

She reiterated Vitalité had no choice but to resort to travel nurses."We had our backs against the wall."

She also pointed some blame at the provincial government.

"Could the use of agency staff have been avoided? Possibly, with judicious planning by all partners over the past 10 to 15 years."

Vitalité had "the green light from the Department of Health" for agency staff, Desrosiers stressed Friday.

Department was unaware of 2 contracts worth $138M

On Wednesday, deputy health minister Eric Beaulieu told a legislative committee the government was aware of Vitalité's first contract with Toronto-based Canadian Health Labs. It was informed of the other two after the fact, late in the 2022-23 fiscal year.

The first contract ran from July 29, 2022, until Sept. 23, 2023, for a maximum of $20  million, and provided a mix of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses at the equivalent of $300.72 an hour, according to a recent Globe and Mail investigation.

The second contract, worth a maximum of $45 million, supplied personal support workers at $162.29 an hour, while the third, which went into effect on Dec. 2, 2022, and runs until February 2026, with a cap of $93 million, effectively charges Vitalité $306.70 an hour per nurse, according to the Globe.

Deputy health minister Eric Beaulieu told a legislative committee this week that the department has started getting reports twice a month from the health authorities on travel nurses, including the costs. (Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick)

Vitalité "went outside the normal practice" by signing two of the three contracts without the department's involvement, given the "magnitude of them, the duration and the dollar figure," Beaulieu told the standing committee on public accounts.

"I want to reiterate the department was not involved in the negotiations of the contracts with CHL or with any of the travel companies."

In a statement to CBC News, Canadian Health Labs, or CHL, said it places essential frontline health-care professionals in rural, remote, and underserved communities "in partnership with provincial governments, and under the direction of local health authorities."

"The contracts CHL enters into with provincial governments outline its rates and services and are tailored to meet each jurisdiction's significant local needs, and reflect the extraordinary logistical challenges of getting and keeping health care professionals in rural, remote and underserved communities," an unidentified spokesperson said.

"While contract rates for human health resources vary by region and specialty, the terms of CHL's contracts with healthcare professionals are fair and transparent."

The Department of Health did not respond directly to questions from CBC about the statements by Desrosiers or Canadian Health Labs.

"Travel nurses are contracted by the regional health authorities (RHAs), not by the department," spokesperson Sean Hatchard said in an email, redirecting inquiries back to Vitalité and Canadian Health Labs.

He reiterated Beaulieu's remarks Wednesday to the public accounts committee that the department is working with the regional health authorities to reduce their use of travel nurses.

It has created a health human resources division in the fall of 2022 to ensure collaboration on recruitment, organized domestic and international recruitment missions and taken steps to trainmore nurses in New Brunswick, he said.

"The Department of Health knows one of the most important things it can do is help ensure the province has a well-staffed health-care system," Hatchard said.

Between April 1, 2023, and Jan. 17, 2024, the regional health authorities have hired a total of 509 permanent registered nurses and licensed practical nurses, for a net increase of 197, he said.

'Saves lives'

Desrosiers acknowledged again in Friday's statement, as she did earlier this week, that the use of travel nurses is "not a perfect solution."

"In addition to the associated costs, many have denounced the salary inequity it creates among nursing staff in the public and private sectors at a time when our health-care workers most need support and recognition."

Still, she defended the expense, saying it "saves lives."

"In retrospect, we need only think of the hundreds of lives that have been saved thanks to the support of agency staff and our own staff in maintaining dialysis treatment, emergency departments and other essential services, for example, to confirm that this decision was the right one," she wrote.

"These patients, they have names … they are our family members, our neighbours, our loved ones."

"The health, safety and well-being of our patients and communities remain at the heart of all our decisions," she added.