The province’s Registered Nurses’ Union has serious questions about plans by NL Health Services to standardize the use of private agency nurses in the health care system.

According to the RNU, the health authority has determined the value of a nurse, and that value will be used in the new standardized two-year contracts for private agency nurses.

However, the union notes government spent $90 million on agency nurses in 2023, an amount that is “not sustainable nor fiscally responsible.”

The union says the announcement made this week begs a number of important questions, including whether or not standardized contracts will allow nurses hired by private agencies to re-enter the public system.

The union claims current contracts prevent nurses from returning to the public system for up to a year.

The RNU also accuses the health authority of “nickel and diming” RNs and nurse practitioners in the public system.

The union is calling for greater transparency on how the contracts with private agencies are being developed.