Horizon Health says it has eliminated the use of travel nurses as expected.
The health authority had committed to stop using travel nurses in late August.
In its latest quarterly update on Thursday, Horizon said that deadline was achieved.
The health authority had a peak of 250 full-time equivalent travel nurses in July 2023. That number dropped to around 80 as of February and 30 as of August.
Officials said they have seen “significant progress” in nurse recruitment this fiscal year.
The health authority reported recruiting more than 540 nurses between April and September. That worked out to a net gain of around 200 registered nurses and 60 licensed practical nurses.
It also added 329 patient care attendants (a net gain of 232) and 130 new physicians.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s francophone health authority has said it will need to keep using travel nurses until 2026.
“Like many other health care organizations in Canada, Vitalité Health Network made the decision to use agency staff to ensure the continuity of patient care in its facilities,” CEO Dr. France Desrosiers said in February.
“Although costly, it remains a vital ethical decision for our network, whose purpose is to foster the health of our patients and communities, today and tomorrow.”
Desrosiers said the health authority faced a “critical” situation in 2022, to the point where emergency department and even facility closures were imminent.
Using agency staff is not a “perfect solution,” said Desrosiers, which is why the health authority has begun a gradual reduction of agency services.
She said recruitment and retention efforts are working, with the number of new hires exceeding the number of departures since June 2022.
But Desrosiers noted it would be “impossible to do without [travel nurses] completely right now, given the immediate needs that are still as great as they were in 2022.”
She said they are looking to fully phase out the use of agency services by winter 2026 while also looking at ways to prevent their use in the future.
