$9B spent on private for-profit staffing in Ontario hospitals: report

Ontario hospitals' costly reliance on staffing agencies spikes 216% in a decade due to staffing and funding shortfalls, says report; province defends their use.

A new report reveals hospitals in northeastern Ontario have dramatically increased spending on for-profit staffing agencies over the past decade, with costs more than tripling.

Private staffing costs triple in last decade

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives study found a more than 200 per cent rise in expenditures for nurses and other staff from private agencies in the region’s hospitals.

Researcher urges ban on agency staffing as costs skyrocket

The report’s author, Andrew Longhurst, a health policy researcher, presented his findings in North Bay, Ont., on Wednesday while urging the Ford government to eliminate reliance on such agencies.

His report, titled Hollowed Out: Ontario public hospitals and the rise of private staffing agencies, highlights severe staffing challenges in northeastern Ontario.

“They have been forced to fill their vacancies with the most expensive form of staffing,” Longhurst said.

Hospitals use staffing agencies to temporarily fill shifts with qualified workers, but the hourly rates charged by these agencies are often double or triple standard wages. Longhurst’s research shows Ontario hospitals paid agencies $9.2 billion over the past decade.

“The provincial government’s underfunding of hospitals has really put hospitals between a rock and a hard spot,” he said, speaking with CTV News, following his presentation.

Between the 2013-14 and 2022-23 fiscal years, spending on private agencies in northeastern hospitals surged from $19 million to $72 million.

“Relative to the spending on front-line hospitals, over that 10-year period, we’ve only seen a 2 per cent increase on spending on front-line hospital staff versus a 216 per cent increase on private for-profit providers,” Longhurst said.

He recommends phasing out agency staffing over three years and eventually banning them, following Quebec’s lead.

Ontario defends agency use amid criticism, calls report ‘misleading’

Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones, questioned by NDP Leader Marit Stiles, defended the use of staffing agencies, particularly in rural and northern hospitals.

“We know that staffing agencies are a tool used primarily in rural and northern hospitals to avoid service disruptions,” Jones said.

“In fact, it is a tool that they have been using for decades. Our government will not take away this important tool.”

In response to the report, the Ministry of Health stated it was written specifically to mislead the public and by inflating costs.

In 2013-14, most Ontario hospital regions spent about 3 per cent of front-line labour costs on agency staff, including 3.8 per cent in the northeast. By 2022-23, that figure had climbed to 10.8 per cent provincewide.

Ontario recently reintroduced legislation – initially tabled in late 2024 but stalled by the election – requiring agencies to disclose billing and pay rates, with provisions for government publication of some details.

Staffing crisis persists despite higher agency spending

Longhurst noted that despite increased agency use, staffing shortages persist. His report found hospital job vacancies in Ontario jumped 331 per cent from 2015 to 2024.

“In reality, agency staff account for less than 2 per cent of hospital hours, and over 97 per cent of nursing graduates enter the public workforce,” said a Ministry of Health spokesperson, in an email to CTV News.

The report also called for a $2-billion boost to hospital base funding.

“Their inability to increase wages and improve working conditions directly benefits these for-profit providers, and that’s the story about what’s been going on in Ontario,” he said.

Jones highlighted provincial efforts to recruit nurses, including covering tuition for those working in underserved areas.

Use of nurse staffing agencies in North Bay

The North Bay Regional Health Centre advised CTV News that they do not use external agencies.