The Registered Nurses Union says recruitment of nurses is one thing but retention quite another.
President Yvette Coffey released a survey of their members yesterday which reveals that 88 per cent feel that under-staffing is contributing to unsafe practices in the health care system. Also, only 8 per cent of nurses and nurse practitioners did not experience violence in a full one-month period.
Coffey calls the results staggering, especially the 200 per cent increase in the number of graduate nurses since 2019 who desire casual work rather than accept permanent employment.
She says we cannot afford to lose one more registered nurse with the backlog of surgeries, and overcrowded emergency rooms…”this is all because of a shortage of human resources.”
Meanwhile, Newfoundland and Labrador is extending double rate overtime for registered nurses.
As part of a number of initiatives announced by government this past summer, double rate overtime for vacation periods has been extended until January 31, 2023.
They hope the move will lead to fewer mandated and extended shifts for registered nurses, as the goal is to have more shifts being filled in advance.