Ontario hospitals, LTC homes spent nearly $1B on agency staff last year

Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones makes an announcement at Sunnybrook Hospital, in Toronto Thursday, August 18, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

But agencies charge double or even triple the regular hourly rate for their staff, hospitals and long-term care homes have said."Respectfully, Speaker, facts matter in this discussion," she told the legislature in October. "The use of health personnel — agency nursing — has actually decreased in the province of Ontario."

"Staffing issues persist in hospitals and long‐term care homes; vacancy rates remain consistent despite the addition of staff through HHR programs," the ministry's capacity and health workforce planning branch wrote. Hospitals and long-term care homes spent about $368.64 million on agency nurses in 2021-22, and the projected cost in 2022-23 was $600.18 million, a 63 per cent increase, the ministry document says.

In long-term care, the percentage of hours worked by agency staff grew from 7.6 per cent to 14.9 per cent in the same time period, an increase of 103 per cent when looking at total hours.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles said her party and experts have long been ringing the alarm bells about staffing agencies.

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