Latest news with #BarryPetten
CBC
21-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
PCs accuse N.L. government of no longer tracking travel nurse spending
Travel nurses were back in discussion at Newfoundland and Labrador's House of Assembly on Tuesday, after the provincial government couldn't provide the cost of travel nurses working in March 2025. It was prompted by MUN critic Matt Barter, who filed an access-to-information request and shared a letter from Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services that said no records were responsive to his request. The health authority wrote, "The amount has not been calculated at this time due to other priorities within the relevant department." With the province's history of spending millions of dollars on travel nursing, PC health critic Barry Petten questioned newly ordained Health Minister Krista Lynn Howell on the department's decision to stop tracking the number of travel nurses working throughout the province. "Why is the minister giving agency nurses another blank cheque?" Petten asked. Despite not having the number at the moment, Howell says the province hasn't stopped tracking its travel nurses. "We are certainly monitoring the use of agency nurses here in Newfoundland and Labrador," she said. "We do know that the reliance on agency nurses has decreased. We've been able to fill a lot of our vacancies." Petten argued if the government is tracking those numbers, that information should be easily accessible. Spending on travel nurses gained scrutiny after a Globe and Mail report revealed the provincial government spent $35.6 million on nurses from private agencies within the span of just five months — April to August 2023 — and shelled out cash for travel nurses' training and cable bills, among other expenses. Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services spent $18.4 million on travel nursing in 2022. The following year the amount had increased to $90 million. Howell didn't know why the latest numbers weren't available, but said she would get it for Petten. He maintained the government stopped its tracking. "We have tens of millions a month being paid out, yet the minister has no idea of the exact figure and doesn't even measure it anymore, even though I'm to be told they're going to try to find it," Petten said. "They're not tracking it." The back and forth concluded with Howell citing the province's improvements in weaning off its reliance on travel nurses, adding the nurses are necessary in some parts of the province. "I, for one, will not be responsible for closing a clinic because we don't have appropriate resources if a travel nurse is available," she said. "We still have to provide services to the people of this province, but we will do so in a manner that is accountable and that is responsible." CBC News has asked Howell's department for the cost of travel nurses for March 2025.
CBC
15-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
N.L. expanding free shingles vaccine to all residents over 50 by September
The Newfoundland and Labrador government announced it's expanding accessibility to the free shingles vaccine to people 50 and older by September, but will start with making it available to immunocompromised seniors on June 1. Premier John Hogan made the announcement on Thursday, following through on a promise he first made during his campaign for Liberal leadership last month. In a news release, the Department of Health and Community Services said that immunocompromised residents between the ages of 50 and 64 will be able to access the vaccine on June 1, with every other resident over 50 years old gaining access on Sept. 1. The province currently offers the vaccine to seniors who are 65 and older, and to those older than 70 and are immunocompromised. In March, then interim health minister John Haggie announced the province would increase that access on June 1. Shingles comes from the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), which also causes chickenpox and can cause rashes and lifelong nerve pain. Health Minister Krista Lynn Howell told reporters Thursday the province had allocated $8.5 million in this year's budget to the provincial vaccine program, but estimates show making the vaccine available to everyone over 50 could cost around $30 million. At the time, Progressive Conservative health critic Barry Petten called it a political move. This week in the House of Assembly, the party wanted to make sure Hogan would stick to his word. During question period inside the House of Assembly on Monday, PC Leader Tony Wakeham asked several times if Hogan would expand the vaccine's availability. Howell and deputy premier Siobhan Coady answered in place of Hogan the first three times the question was asked. Hogan answered the fourth time around. "We will deliver vaccines to everybody over the age of 50 for shingles," he said. The announced expansion comes three days after that exchange, and just one day after the 2025-26 provincial budget was passed in the House. Howell told reporters the government was able to make the announcement once it knew the amount of vaccine that was needed to make the expansion happen.
