Nurses: increase in the use of the private sector in the Quebec hospital

SÉBASTIEN ST-JEAN/24H MONTREAL/

François Cormier

Sunday, 18 march 2018 17:01

UPDATE
Sunday, 18 march 2018 17:01

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Compared to last year, there has been an increase in the use of private placement agencies to fill the work shifts of nurses, nursing assistants and respiratory therapists for all health facilities in Quebec, learned VAT News.

The ministry of Health estimates the increase to 5 % for fiscal year 2017-2018 (which ends on 31 march) if the trend continues. “Between 2014-2015 and 2016-2017, there has been a 22% decrease in the use of labor-independent and, from 2009-2010 to 2013-2014, the rate had decreased to near 35 %”, argues Noémie Vanheuverzwijn, a spokesman at the ministry of Health.

Of the institutions where the increase is most acute

While there was almost no recourse to private agencies, the CISSS of the Islands (de-la-Madeleine) has up to now had to give 1478 hours of work to employees from the private.

“We had the use of nurses from agencies for two specific situations. The first was an outbreak of gastro where several members of staff have been ill. The second, last summer, in one area in particular where we had a high number of absences due to maternity. It is a type of absence more or less predictable”, explains Philippe Simon Laplante, the CISSS of the Islands.

In the Bas-Saint-Laurent, the CISSS has to deal with a problem of recruitment, particularly in the Témiscouata, Matapédia and in the Kamouraska. Although minimal, the number of hours of data of nurses from private agencies has almost quadrupled in a year.

“There is a little more labor-independent work in some areas because it was a little more difficult to recruit. We need to replace people on maternity leave and sick leave,” says Annie Leclerc, director of human resources at the CISSS du Bas-Saint-Laurent.

“The Témiscouata, for example, is very close to the New Brunswick. They offer full-time,” says cindie home Soucy, of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec, in the Bas-Saint-Laurent. “With our aging population, it is necessary to keep our young people in the region and offer them positions attractive”, she adds.

The health care institution where the proportion of private is the most important is the CIUSSS-of-the-Island-of-Montreal. The division ensures that it is the last resort and a massive campaign of recruitment is underway to fill the positions available.