The Manitoba government has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to curb the use of private for-profit nursing agencies in the health-care system as part of a multi-pronged approach to increase the number of public nurses working in health care and reduce mandatory overtime rates for those nurses.
“The previous government’s health-care cuts created a cottage industry of private for-profit agencies,” said Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara. “These agencies benefited from a situation where nurses had gone too long without a contract and in frustration left the public system. 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.”
In the past, Manitoba has held hundreds of distinct contracts with more than seventy private for-profit agencies with little-to-no policies on how to limit those agencies’ impact on the nurses working in the public system or the rates they charge to publicly funded service delivery organizations, noted the minister. This RFP will support work to reduce the number of contracted agencies at prices that ensure 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, Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU). “The Manitoba Nurses Union, under the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, has been advocating for this change for years.”
The rampant use of private agencies served to exacerbate pressures on front-line staff and was a key factor in the government’s contract with Manitoba nurses, noted the minister, adding the RFP is a step forward in the government’s commitment to reduce mandatory overtime rates for nurses working in the public health system. The first step was to ban service delivery organizations from signing new agreements with private agencies, the minister noted.
The Manitoba government, in partnership with MNU, also worked to expand a travel nurse team that offers the flexibility many nurses are seeking and has directed service delivery organizations to make joining the travel team as seamless as possible. 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, added the minister.
