The RNU is urging the provincial government to roll out a province-wide nursing travel locum program to ensure that nurse practitioners and registered nurses are getting equitable pay for the work they do to fill gaps in rural and remote areas.

The Registered Nurses Union introduced a nursing travel locum program as a pilot in Labrador that they say has proven successful. They’re lobbying to have the program expanded.

The idea is to help government wean off its reliance on pricey private agency travel nurses.

Union President Yvette Coffey says travel locums are a “proven, sustainable solution to addressing gaps in public health care.”

The RNU says a recent survey conducted by the Department of Health and NLHS found that 81 per cent of nurse practitioners asked expressed an interest in establishing locum opportunities for existing staff to provide temporary coverage in rural and remote areas.