Tony Wakeham asks, "Why are we paying agency nurses $300 an hour when experienced local professionals are ready and willing to help? It defies common sense and is a blatant misuse of taxpayers’ dollars.”
The leader of the provincial opposition is calling out government’s reliance on expensive private agency nurses while qualified local nurses are being ignored…..and the example Tony Wakeham is using is from the west coast. In the wake of the Auditor General’s damning report that uncovered $241 million in mismanagement and potential fraud, Wakeham shared a new case involving a casual Nurse Practitioner from the west coast who offered to work but was rejected. That same nurse has since been contacted by a private agency to cover the very shifts they were previously turned down for. Wakeham says “Why are we paying agency nurses $300 an hour when experienced local professionals are ready and willing to help? It defies common sense and is a blatant misuse of taxpayers’ dollars.” The Auditor General’s found that 72 nurses were laid off, only to have their positions filled by agency nurses—at four times the cost. Wakeham says “Public money was used to buy air fryers, milk frothers, luxury apartments, and even electric car rentals.”
Truck left going and unattended gets stolen from Pasadena Irving on Saturday
Cow Head man boards a bus in Stephenville and gets arrested in Gander after trying to sell drugs onboard
Leaves with dark spots or blight can damage vehicles or shingles, remove them fast
Masks are once again required at hospitals and health care facilities until at least the end of March
Corner Brook is gearing up for winter snow clearing operations
