Temporary staffing agencies exploit worker shortages in long-term care facilities: report

Huntsville's Fairvern Nursing Home is one of many long-term care facilities in Ontario struggling to keep up with the high cost of temporary staffing.

According to a recent report from AdvantAge Ontario, a senior-care advocacy group, long-term care facilities are being charged as much as 249 per cent more per hour by temporary staffing agencies than permanent staff.

"There are some temporary staffing agencies out there that are gouging long-term care homes when they are looking for staff," said AdvantAge Ontario CEO Lisa Levin.

Staffing shortages in the health care sector have been exacerbated since the pandemic, forcing many facilities, including the Huntsville nursing home, to pay exorbitant prices for temporary employees to fill in the gaps.

The report says the significant cost difference creates instability in the sector, making it difficult for long-term care facilities to provide adequate care to residents.

Levin said some seniors' home workers are leaving permanent positions for temporary agencies because of the incentives.

"It certainly doesn't help staff culture in the home when they see people leaving and going to temporary agencies, making more money, being able to choose the shifts and even the parts of the home they work in," she added.

AdvantAge Ontario is calling for the government to regulate the fees that staffing agencies can charge long-term care facilities and to provide additional funding to help cover the cost of permanent staff.

"We also need to have controls because some of the agencies are sending in workers that don't even have the appropriate credentials, and that's just not acceptable," Levin added.

"All businesses in Ontario should operate within professional standards. There are a number of temporary agencies which are very reputable and do a good job, but to those that are price gouging, they need to stop," she concluded.