St. John’s, NL – The Registered Nurses’ Union Newfoundland & Labrador (RNU) is once again raising serious concerns about the government’s nurse recruitment claims and ongoing transparency issues. This comes after receiving an updated vacancy report from the government, which was due in April 2024 but arrived five months late. The new report still fails to answer the pressing questions raised in our previous release.
“Despite finally receiving this long-overdue vacancy report, the numbers don’t reflect the government’s claim of recruiting 660 nurses since April 2023,” said Yvette Coffey, President of RNU. “At that time, there were around 746 vacant positions, and despite these recruitment efforts, we’ve only seen a net gain of about 50 filled positions. We need to know where these new nurses are and why we are still facing such a severe staffing shortage.”
Key Concerns and Unanswered Questions
RNU continues to question the government’s recruitment claims and their transparency on staffing numbers. Specifically:
- Attrition and Retention: The discrepancy between the recruitment of 660 nurses and the small number of positions filled suggests a high rate of attrition. The union is demanding that the government provide data on how many nurses have left the system since April 2023, and the reasons for their departures.
- Retention Strategy: If nurses are resigning, this points to a deeper retention problem. Has the government analyzed these resignations? Does it understand why nurses are leaving the system? If it does, what is it doing to retain nurses?
- Demand for Transparency: The people of Newfoundland and Labrador deserve to know the true state of healthcare staffing and what steps the government is taking to resolve this crisis.
The President’s Tour: A Province-Wide Crisis
The first part of the President’s Tour, which covered communities across Newfoundland and Labrador—including Nain, Sheshatshiu, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, St. Anthony, Burgeo, Port aux Basques, Stephenville, and others—highlighted that staffing shortages are a province-wide issue. Every site visited was chronically understaffed, with many positions filled by locums instead of permanent staff.
“We’re not just seeing isolated problems. This is a systemic issue affecting communities throughout the province,” added Coffey. “Despite the government’s claims, the situation on the ground has not improved.”
Call for Accountability
While recent reports show some improvements, such as a decrease in sick leave hours, the government must answer for why casual hours are fluctuating and why the system continues to rely heavily on overtime and locums. The current approach is unsustainable, and without addressing the underlying issues of attrition and burnout, the crisis will only deepen.
Closing Statement
“Our healthcare system cannot continue to operate on temporary fixes and recruitment numbers that don’t add up,” Coffey concluded. “We need real, actionable retention strategies and a transparent accounting of the true state of our workforce. The people of Newfoundland and Labrador deserve better.”
-30-
About Registered Nurses’ Union Newfoundland & Labrador
The Registered Nurses’ Union Newfoundland & Labrador represents more than 5,800 registered nurses and nurse practitioners working in acute care, long-term care, community, education, and research.
For more information, please contact:
Jonathan Hamel
Director of Communications
Phone: (709) 691-6890
Email: jhamel@rnunl.ca