N.B. health minister says province considering regional travel nurse agency - BERITAJA

New Brunswick’s wellness curate says the state is considering a location recreation caregiver agency successful the Maritimes, weeks aft P.E.I.’s wellness curate first mentioned the thought to reporters.

Travel nurses return impermanent nursing positions successful hospitals aliases accommodation that are facing unit shortages.

“Yes, we are looking astatine that. It’s a caller idea, possibly a bully one,” said New Brunswick Minister of Health John Dornan.

“We are not committed to going that way astatine this constituent successful time, but I could perpetrate that we are looking astatine it. No news today.”

But the thought isn’t receiving specified a lukewarm invited from the unions representing nurses successful the provinces.

Paula Doucet, president of the New Brunswick Nurses’ Union, says she hasn’t been contacted by provincial officials and believes New Brunswick isn’t considering its caller corporate agreement, which was signed pinch nurses past fall.

“Before they moreover contemplate putting this into practice, we’d request that we each beryllium astatine the table. I mean this has implications for each our unions crossed each these provinces,” said Doucet.

As well, location is still ongoing fallout from the introduction of backstage nursing services successful New Brunswick.

In June 2024, an auditor general’s study recovered that betwixt Jan. 1, 2022, and Feb. 29, 2024, Vitalité Health Network paid much than $123 cardinal for backstage nursing services, including $98 cardinal to Canadian Health Labs.

The francophone wellness agency spent the about connected recreation nurses retired of 3 authorities bodies nether audit.

Dornan said astatine the clip the statement was costly and “unfair” to taxpayers.

Last spring, the state passed authorities to cancel the recreation caregiver contracts. Canadian Health Labs revenge a suit alleging breach of contract.

“Since they’ve started, we’ve each been talking about really to destruct them,” Doucet said about recreation nursing contracts.

In Nova Scotia, the nurses’ national questions really the nationalist location recreation caregiver agency would work.

“I’m happy that governments are starting to opportunity we request to get power of the usage of our recreation nurses. However having a location recreation nurse, I’m not judge really it would work,” said Nova Scotia Nurses Union president, Janet Hazelton.

“Who’s the employer? Benefits, for example, are each different, pension plans are each different, the money that the nurses make successful the … different provinces again are different, truthful I don’t deliberation it could work.”

In an emailed statement, Nova Scotia’s wellness minister, Michelle Thompson, says the state is committed to stabilizing the wellness workforce, which could see piloting an soul recreation caregiver team.

But she says it’s premature to talk the connection and that much accusation and discussions are required.