A forensic audit is still ongoing, but Evans says it’s unsettling given long wait times and the total misspending isn’t even known yet.
Health Minister Lela Evans is speaking out about what she says is disturbing information on how money was spent on agency nurses. She says last year, although there was no money in the budget for it, about $80M was spent on travel nurses and the year before, these nurses cost an extra $100M. Evans says all that money could have been spent on delivering proper healthcare , and improving wait times and access to healthcare in rural NL.
A forensic audit is still ongoing, but Evans says it’s unsettling given long wait times and the total misspending isn’t even known yet.
Evans says timely access to healthcare is important and this audit needs to be very thorough and taxpayers want accountability. She says this is what happens when there aren’t proper budgets in place. Evans says when systems are not working, people suffer with their health.
The audit on travel nurses is nearing completion and Evans expects it will show how government conducted business. She says that will lead to hard decisions and even legal action if required. There are about 200 travel nurses currently working in the province.
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