The latest report from CBC’s The Cure series paints a devastating picture of the healthcare crisis in Newfoundland and Labrador. In rural communities like Baie Verte, people are left suffering, waiting, and in some cases, dying because they lack access to a primary care provider. The solution has been staring government in the face, yet remains underutilized—Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are primary care providers, ready and able to serve, but barriers continue to block them from practicing to their full scope.
“The government continues to paint a rosy picture of recruitment while ignoring the hemorrhaging of healthcare providers,” said Yvette Coffey, President of the Registered Nurses’ Union Newfoundland & Labrador (RNU). “We need primary healthcare providers. Nurse Practitioners are highly skilled, advanced care nurses who can provide the holistic, sustainable care our communities desperately need – they are primary healthcare providers! The time for lip service is over; the time for action is now.”
For too long, government has been ignoring the critical role NPs play in primary care. While government boasts about recruiting over 900 nurses since April 2023, they fail to acknowledge that nearly as many have left the system in the same period. This is not a recruitment success—it’s a retention crisis. Without addressing the root causes of healthcare provider burnout and turnover, government is pouring good money after bad, perpetuating a cycle of loss and instability.
RNU is calling on the government and Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services (NLHS) to start implementing the real solutions we have been offering:
- Implement NP-led clinics so that NPs can provide primary healthcare to rural, remote, and underserved communities. Government must remove barriers that prevent NPs from leading clinics and providing essential care. This will go a long way to meeting the needs of the more than 45,000 Newfoundlander and Labradorians who do not have a primary healthcare provider.
- Interview and analyze why healthcare providers are leaving instead of just focusing on recruitment. Until we understand the reasons for the exodus, we cannot fix the retention crisis.
- Expand the Nurse Travel Locum province-wide to ensure that every rural and remote community has consistent access to primary healthcare.
- Remove barriers to NP practice, giving them full autonomy and a funding model that allows them to deliver the care they are trained and prepared to provide.
“People in this province should not be forced to drive hours for emergency care, to lose loved ones because there was no provider available, to live in fear of the next health crisis with no one to turn to, or to have to pay out of pocket for primary healthcare,” said Coffey. “It is unacceptable for government to delay a moment longer. The people of Newfoundland and Labrador deserve and expect better.”
It is time to stop shortchanging Newfoundland and Labrador’s public healthcare system by investing millions into private travel agencies with no long-term commitment to our communities. The solution is clear: invest in our own. Invest in Nurse Practitioners. Give them the tools, autonomy, and support they need to provide the care our people deserve.
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About the Registered Nurses’ Union Newfoundland & Labrador The Registered Nurses’ Union Newfoundland & Labrador (RNU) represents more than 5,800 registered nurses and nurse practitioners working in acute care, long-term care, community, education, and research. RNU is dedicated to advocating for quality public healthcare and ensuring that RNs and NPs are recognized and supported in delivering expert, evidence-based care to the people of this province.
For more information, please contact:
Jonathan Hamel
Director of Communications
Registered Nurses’ Union Newfoundland & Labrador
Phone: (709) 691-6890
Email: jhamel@rnunl.ca