Agency cuts shouldn’t add to nurse shortage: MNU

Provincial cuts to dozens of private nursing agencies should not contribute to a nurse shortage in Prairie Mountain Health, the Manitoba Nurses Union says.

President Darlene Jackson said she thinks the cuts will entice more private agency nurses who have worked in Westman to apply for a position in the public system or join the provincial travel nurse team that helps to fill staffing gaps.

“I’m fairly confident that this is going to be a great thing for our health-care system,” Jackson told the Sun on Wednesday.

As of Jan. 15, the Manitoba government will only allow four private agencies to fill vacant nursing shifts in public health facilities, a spokesperson for Shared Health said in a statement on Wednesday.

The province issued a request for proposals to curb its reliance on private for-profit nursing agencies in December 2024.

Elite Intellicare Staffing, Integra Health, Bayshore HealthCare and Augury Healthcare were selected to offer privatized services in Manitoba through a competitive bidding process.

Each regional health authority will have contracts with a primary, secondary and tertiary agency. The health authority will contact agencies in order of priority from first to third on the list when a nursing shift needs to be filled, Shared Health said.

Augury Healthcare is the primary agency for Prairie Mountain Health, followed by Elite Intellicare Staffing and Integra Health.

The health authority offers shifts to staff on site before reaching out to agency nurses, the statement said. Nurses can only work for one private agency at a time.

“Nurses who wish to work in different (health regions) must apply to the agency that holds priority shifts for the specific site or region where they want to work, ensuring clearer oversight of credentials and skill matching,” Shared Health said.

The announcement marks an end to government partnerships with more than 70 private nursing agencies, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara told the Sun.

“This change is an important step that should have been taken years ago,” Asagwara said in a statement.

“The public system delivers the most consistent and highest quality care, and our government is strengthening the public workforce to support hospitals and personal care homes instead of relying on short-term, patchwork agency coverage.”

Last year, the province ordered Prairie Mountain Health to cut its spending on private nursing agencies by 15 per cent before March 2026.

Asagwara has previously said the region has managed to cut agency costs by 14 per cent so far.

Data from Shared Health shows the province has spent a total of $287.8 million on private agencies in the last five years, with costs rising from $26.9 million in 2020-21 to $80 million in 2024-25.

Prairie Mountain Health alone spent $8.1 million on private nursing agencies in 2020-21, and that amount jumped to $35 million in 2024-25, Asagwara said.

Jackson said the travel nurse program and cutting ties with private nursing agencies work to bolster public health-care staffing and keep spending on private agencies more fiscally responsible.

“It really came about from the fact that there was a lot of concern from government and employers and the union with regards to the amount of money that was coming out of the public health-care system and going into private for-profit agencies,” she said.

Jackson said she has heard from nurses who worked with agency staff who have since taken a permanent position in the public sector.

Shared Health said 555 nurses were working in the provincial float pool as of Dec. 31, with 55 per cent of them previously employed by agencies, and recruitment efforts are ongoing.

Jackson expects the Manitoba government may run into some issues using a new scheduling system as it gets up and running.

Progressive Conservative health critic Kathleen Cook said it’s important to reduce spending on private agency nursing, but added that it can’t come at the expense of patient care.

Cook, the MLA for Roblin, said she’s concerned about an existing high vacancy rate in Prairie Mountain Health.

“The current NDP government doesn’t have a good track record for managing changes to the way we do staffing,” she said.

She cited the government’s launch of a centralized scheduling system for home care services in Winnipeg in 2025 that led to cancelled appointments as an example.

“This plan seems to be contingent on all of those nurses taking jobs in the public sector,” she said. “I don’t know that they have a backup plan if that doesn’t happen, and I’d hate to see a scenario where facilities are left understaffed because they can’t call on agencies and they haven’t been able to fill those positions.”

Cook said she isn’t convinced the province has dealt with all the reasons why nurses leave the public sector in the first place, such as wanting to have more control over their schedules, or workplace safety and cultures issues.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com