New research reveals public health dollars spent on for-profit nursing agencies

News & Announcements | 23 Sep 2024

Nationwide spending on for-profit nursing agencies has boomed to billions within one fiscal year, revealed new research led by Dr. Joan Almost, a professor in the Queen’s University School of Nursing.

The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) partnered with Queen’s to conduct the mixed methods study, which aims to shed light on the skyrocketing use of for-profit agencies across Canada. Opening the black box: Unpacking the use of nursing agencies in Canada unveiled a sharp increase in agency spending and a concerning lack of regulations and transparency over how these companies operate.

$1.5 billion public health dollars are projected to be paid out to for-profit nursing agencies in the 2023-2024 fiscal year. The rise in spending has been rapid, with a six-fold increase over just three years, up from $247.9 million in 2020-2021. These estimates are based on available data but, given the lack of transparency, the real values are much higher.

Dr. Almost emphasized the impact of the industry operating largely unregulated and the need for accountability.

“Employers are being put into pressured situations when an agency they are working with further increases the rates, leading to a lot of conversations about the ceiling and deciding when enough is enough,” said Dr. Almost. “Do they go along with the unexpected rate hikes or leave units without adequate staffing or cancel services?”

Opening the black box outlines key recommendations to address this costly trend, including:

Governments must immediately begin working towards phasing out the use of private for-profit nurse staffing agencies in Canada.
Governments and employers must take immediate action to solve the nursing shortage crisis.
Until private nursing agencies can be completely phased out, actions must be taken to implement regulations and oversight.

CFNU President Linda Silas said the report makes it clear that “for-profit nursing agencies are not a sustainable solution to Canada’s staffing crisis.”

“While governments, employers and unions have been working to fix workplaces and solve the health care crisis, corporate stakeholders have been taking advantage of the hardship facing our health care system,” Silas explained.

Silas said employer testimonies underscore the dire need to sustainably address staffing shortages through proven retention and recruitment initiatives. Employers identified numerous factors behind the increase in spending on for-profit nursing agencies, including meeting service obligations, avoiding service disruptions, workforce shortages and difficulty recruiting.

This is an edited version of a release from Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU.)

New research reveals public health dollars spent on for-profit nursing agencies

Related topics

Explore Our Stories