Private agency, or so-called “Travel Nurses,” are currently employed in every corner of the province and the Nurses Union says it’s costing government “millions upon millions” of dollars.

RNU President Yvette Coffey says traditionally, travel nurses were typically used in more remote locations like Labrador, but their use increased substantially last year.

Coffey says their use is having an impact on the overall health system because agency nurses receive nearly double the salary of registered nurses, and the problem is not unique to Newfoundland and Labrador.

She says they’ve heard of an instance in western Canada where a group of nurses resigned and walked back in to work the following day as agency nurses, “making 2-3 times their salary.”

She says they are also hearing about nursing students who are giving serious consideration to work for agencies rather than the public system.