Record number of Manitoba nurses working for private agencies

More registered nurses than ever before are working for private agencies, which could impact patient safety. CTV’s Daniel Halmarson reports.

More nurses than ever before are working for private agencies in the province.

That’s according to a recent report from the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba (CRNM) showing 1,610 nurses opted to work for private agencies in 2024.

The CRNM said that means more than a tenth of the total number of registered nurses and nurse practitioners worked for an agency in some capacity last year.

“That’s a very significant number overall,” said CRNM communications manager Martin Lussier.

Agency nurses commonly work in long-term care settings, emergency rooms, and general medicine wards to fill gaps in the public health system—especially in rural and remote areas.

The report says agency work helps address staff shortages, however, the CRNM warns of risks to patient safety and healthcare system stability.

“Emergency rooms as a setting for agency nursing is new and that’s certainly a concern, especially if you have inexperienced nurses working in a very high-acuity patient care environment,” Lussier said.

Earlier this year, the CRNM introduced new guidelines for private agency practices. Those rules include requiring nurses to have at least 2,015 hours of work experience in a Canadian healthcare setting before they can take on agency work.

The report found the rise of agency nursing in the province started during the COVID-19 pandemic and has increased over the past few years because of poor working conditions in the public system.

“The number one finding [in the report], with very few exceptions, was that people were seeking a greater work-life balance, and the ability to have more flexibility in managing their schedule.”

Kathleen Cook, the health critic for the Manitoba PC Party, said the report reveals nursing practices in Manitoba are heading in the wrong direction.

“It points to an increase reliance on agency nursing, and it states that the primary reason for that is a shortage of acceptable working conditions in the public system. And that’s what should make minister’s ears perk up,” Cook told CTV News.

The provincial government has come up with solutions like the Provincial Travel Nurse Team to attract more nurses with pay and perks to fill shifts in health-care settings.

However, the head of the Manitoba Nurses Union (MNU) says the NDP government isn’t adequately funding or staffing the team.

“[Nurses] put their applications in and then they hear nothing for four months,” Darlene Jackson, MNU’s president, explained. “We have gone to the government, and we have advocated very loud and very clear that we need that team resourced to be able to onboard those individuals very quickly.”

She said that is pushing nurses to apply for agency spots instead.

Last year, the NDP government announced it would no longer allow private nursing agencies to sign new contracts with regional health authorities. Instead, the province issued a request for proposals which it said will reduce the use of private nurses. At the time, policies and standards were being put in place, including lower wage rates.

CTV News reached out to Manitoba’s health minister for comment and has not heard back.