51 leases between NLHS staff and travel nurses terminated, says health authority

After an investigation into allegations that Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services staff were buying houses to rent to agency and internationally trained nurses, the health authority says it terminated 51 leases.

In March, Yvette Coffey, president of the Registered Nurses' Union of Newfoundland and Labrador, made the allegation.

An internal review found there were 57 leases between NLHS employees and the health authority itself, which officially was the tenant. The accommodations were in turn assigned to internationally-trained or agency nurses. Seventeen of those leases were from managers.

Debbie Molloy, NLHS human resources vice-president, argued the employees involved didn't know about a potential conflict of interest or intentionally violate the Conflict of Interest Act.

"Our review found that no employees … were hiding or disguising themselves within this process. They felt they had qualified for an exception and there was no intent to do something that they shouldn't have done," Molloy said Monday.

Last week, NLHS made the decision not to take disciplinary action. 

"We have not found anything to support the allegation that managers, or any other employee for that matter, purchased a home to rent to nurses or agencies," said Karen Stone, interim CEO of NLHS.  

In the meantime, there is still the possibility that a conflict of interest did happen.

"We've actually told our staff that we believe it's a conflict of interest," said Stone.

In the Conflict of Interest Act, contracts awarded by a public tender or made in an emergency situation, are exempt. The six leases that remain intact were public tender. 

As a result, the health authority has asked the province's conflict of interest committee to investigate the matter. 

WATCH | There was no intent to do something 'underhanded,' says human resources VP: 

Here’s why no health-care employee will be disciplined, despite being landlords to travel nurses for personal benefit

9 days ago

Duration 1:28

An investigation found there were 57 leases between Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services employees and foreign-trained nurses and agency nurses. While these leases have now been terminated, the vice-president of N.L. Health Services human resources, Debbie Molloy, says the employees didn’t mean to do anything wrong.

Molloy says this is because the health authority adheres to a "just culture philosophy." 

"What that means is we understand that mistakes happen," she said.

She says when looking into an allegation, the health authority must consider systemic factors to determine if there was intent to hide something — which they did not find in this case. 

According to Molloy, employees felt they were allowed to lease their properties because they qualified for the emergency exception to the Conflict of Interest Act. 

Emergency definition unclear

Stone says the pandemic created unprecedented challenges to the health-care system that are still being dealt with today — including a backlog of surgeries.

Therefore, she says, in 2022 there was an unprecedented need for travel nurses across the province, and they all needed somewhere to stay amid a housing shortage. 

Stone says the health authority tried everything to find housing, and as a result they chose to enter into leases with staff and managers who had rental properties under the pretence it was an emergency situation. 

However, the Conflict of Interest Act doesn't define an emergency. 

"We sided on the side of caution and determined there were a number of places where we felt there was a contravention of the Act," said Molloy. 

The health authority is taking action to prevent conflict of interest going forward, including educating leaders and staff. 

The Auditor General is also conducting a performance audit and will be presenting recommendations in the future. 

"We look forward to hearing her recommendations," said Molloy.

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