Newly-elected ONA president wants to stop the use of agency nurses

The Ontario Nurses’ Association’s (ONA) newly-elected president is hoping to put an end to the use of agency nurses.

Erin Ariss is an emergency department nurse from Kitchener and only started her term on Monday.

Ariss says she has noticed more long-term care homes and hospitals hiring private agency nurses to cope with critical shortages.

“What we're seeing is agency nursing has become commonplace in our community,” said Ariss. “Prior to the pandemic, we really didn't need agency nurses,” she said.

She's worked alongside agency nurses and says she has no intent to vilify them, but when they're brought in to cover vacancies they get a much higher pay.

“As a nurse in a unionized position, I would often make half of what an agency nurse would make. In some cases, they would make three times what we would make,” Ariss added.

She says nurses on the floor have to dedicate a lot of time to getting the agency nurses up to speed with protocols and policies.

REGISTERED NURSE WEIGHS IN

It's something Ashley Fox says she has seen firsthand, working as both a registered practical nurse and agency nurse in long-term care.

“We have the benefit of knowing the routine. We have the benefit of knowing the residents. Off the back of our head, we all know what someone's favourite soft drink is, what the morning routine is,” Fox said.

She’s seen the struggles on the flip side.

“Coming in without having that routine can be a little confusing. And you've always got a lot of questions from staff and residents because you're not the person you see on a regular basis.”

The ONA wants to get rid of agency or privatized nursing because they are paid through public funds. Instead, they want to see more competitive wages for frontline and unionized nurses. More staffing is a must too.

MINISTER OF HEALTH RESPONSE

In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson for the minister of health says hospitals have always had the ability to use agency nurses.

The statement from spokesperson Hannah Jensen says in part: “The proportion of agency nurses has decreased from 3.8 per cent in 2017 to 3.2 per cent in 2021, and remains to be under 1 per cent of the total hours worked in hospitals.”

For those working in health care, they say as long as the agency option is there, nurses will continue to find that path attractive because of the greater pay and greater flexibility.