We need to understand why the agencies are being used and adapt public health staffing appropriately
In every jurisdiction, these costs have risen exponentially in recent years, particularly since the pandemic hit.
Agency nurses are paid two to three times the wages of staff nurses, and sometimes travel, food and rent allowances, signing bonuses of up to $25,000, and finder fees for recruiting other nurses. There are no benefits or pension plans. There is also an incredible rigidity in work arrangements. Most nurses are women, many with young families. Another large cohort is over 50 and approaching retirement. Both these groups want flexible work schedules; they don’t want to spend 12-hour shifts on their feet, let alone double shifts and overtime.Hospitals, and to a lesser extent care homes, have used temporary workers and staffing agencies for decades. There is nothing inherently wrong with the policy.
But now agency nurses are becoming permanent temporary staff. In some hospital units, like emergency rooms, half the nurses are temps. Again, this makes no sense, and it’s untenable. Continuity matters.
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