3,200 health-care workers have moved from private to public sector since new law took effect

Thousands of health-care workers have moved from private agencies over to Quebec's public system since a new law aimed at gradually limiting the use of such agencies in the public sector came into effect last year, Radio-Canada has learned. 

According to the latest data from the Health Ministry, some 3,200 private agency workers have gone public since last fall, including several hundred nurses. That's 800 more than in early spring of this year.

In recent years, the province has become increasingly reliant on agencies to provide nurses and patient aids to fill its hospitals, long-term care homes (CHSLDs) and clinics.

Last year, the government unanimously adopted Bill 10, which intends to put an end to the systematic use of private agencies in the health-care network by 2026. There are currently around 10,000 private sector nurses, patient attendants, and auxiliary nurses working in the public system.

Health Minister Christian Dubé has said he instead wants to focus on improving working conditions in the public system. A spokesperson for Dubé's office said the current headway is encouraging. 

"We have made significant progress with the Front commun, (which represents about 420,000 public sector workers who went on strike for 11 days in 2023) and we are seeing their impact on the return of orderlies and nurses, who are returning to the network in droves," the spokesperson said. 

There are 338,000 people currently employed in the health and social services network, some 8,000 more than at the same time last year.

Issues in remote regions

While the government's efforts are starting to bear fruit, some regional health officials say more needs to be done.

Health-care establishments in the Côte-Nord and Abitibi-Témiscamingue regions warned of recent reductions in services to the public due in particular to a reduction in the use of private agencies.

Caroline Roy, CEO of the CISSS de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue, says she has taken a number of initiatives in recent years to reduce the health authority's reliance on agencies, including recruiting from abroad.

"It will take different measures from what we currently have access to, because in the regions, there are many things we've tried," she said. 

Around 700 agency workers currently travel to Abitibi-Témiscamingue every two weeks, Roy says. 

Last month, the Quebec government said it intended to create a "flying squad" of health-care professionals that will be deployed in the province's regions as a means of reducing the system's reliance on private agencies to address staffing shortages.

The team is expected to be deployed for the first time in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Côte-Nord regions over the next few weeks.

Legal challenge to Bill 10

Meanwhile, the association representing private health agencies in Quebec, Entreprises privées de personnels soignants du Québec (EPPSQ), has launched a legal challenge to Bill 10.

Last month, EPPSQ president Patrice Lapointe said if Bill 10 goes ahead as planned, it's patients who will ultimately suffer.

"It will inevitably lead to service breakdowns which will cause psychological and physical suffering to network users and, potentially, an increase in mortality," the EPPSQ's legal filing says.

To date, an invitation from Lapointe to the Quebec government for discussions has gone unheeded. 

For its part, the Autorité des marchés publics (AMP), which oversees public contracts in Quebec, is closely monitoring the contracts awarded to agencies by health-care establishments.

In April, the AMP banned six health-care worker placement agencies from bidding for Quebec public contracts for the next five years because they did not meet integrity requirements.