The Saskatchewan Nurses' Union (SUN) is sounding the alarm over the number of traveling nurses being used in the province.
These are temporary nurses hired to fill the gap, but their numbers are on the rise, and the problem is that there is no end in sight.
According to the president of SUN, the system is flawed because there are too many temporary nurses.
“The damage to our health care system is huge. There is no stability in the workplace where we have to constantly rely on temporary nurses to fill positions,” Tracy Zamboree told CTV News.
She calls them agency nurses. That's because they are hired by independent agencies and contracted to fill needed positions in the state.
Zamboree says the problem with temporary nurses is multilayered.
“These nurses have a lot of other costs associated with their work, so it's costing health authorities a lot of money,” she says.
That number is expected to rise to $70 million this year, she said.
Most travel nurses come from other parts of Canada, but some come from some provinces.
“Because they can work two weeks and earn the same amount as working full time. The scary aspect of that is that there are no pensions or benefits,” she said.
Jared Clark, the NDP's urban and rural health critic, said rural Saskatchewan has seen a decline in the number of nurses by more than 21 per cent in recent years.
“This is a health crisis in Sask. We're ready to party,” Clark said.
The state government said it is addressing the nursing shortage through its health workforce action plan.
