Ontario hospitals and long-term care homes spent $1B on agency staff in 2021, contradicting Health Minister's claim of decreasing usage.
ONTARIO hospitals and long-term care homes spent nearly $1 billion last year to fill staffing gaps with nurses and personal support workers from private agencies, a Ministry of Health document shows. This increase in agency usage comes despite Health Minister Sylvia Jones' claims that the use of agencies has been decreasing. Hospitals and long-term care homes rely on staffing agencies to cover shifts when they cannot fill them with employees, but the agencies charge double or even triple the regular hourly rate for their staff.
March 25, 2024
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