The Registered Nurses Union says it has not had any involvement in the awarding of a contract to Change Health, a US-based company contracted to come up with a Workforce Management System for health care delivery in Newfoundland and Labrador.
RNU President Yvette Coffey says the idea stemmed from a presentation made to government a few years ago by former President Debbie Forward following a trip to New Zealand.
She and other nurses union representatives gathered information on New Zealand’s nursing care model which is based on the needs of patients, and not on the number of beds or a set budget.
Coffey says since then the RFP for the Workforce Management System was changed to reflect a nursing model based on patient needs instead of the number of beds. That’s where the RNU’s involvement in the contract ended.
The rest of the system, says Coffey, they have very little further information about. She promises to remain vigilant and “keep Dr. Haggie to his word” that this will improve the work-life of registered nurses and nurse practitioners and patient outcomes.
Meanwhile, NAPE President Jerry Earle says while they had no say in awarding the contract or how it’s being done, they agree with the process.
He says members have been working excessive overtime in the health care system and suffering as a result.
Earle says LPNs and PSAs are among the top five professions that see the highest level of workplace injury. He says what his union and other public sector unions were presented with and were briefed on, was a mechanism to address concerns they brought forward.
Earle says while the approach to addressing the issue may be problematic, “they listened.”