Someone with a pulse: Are travel nurses a bandage fix in Saskatchewan? [Video]

The nursing shortage across Saskatchewan has left workers feeling burnt out and patients frustrated with the lack of care available to them.

As the provincial government attempts to fill gaps in medical facilities across the province, it comes with a hefty bill.

Tracy Zambory, the president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN), said in the first two quarters of 2024 there were roughly 300 vacant medical jobs in the province and the number is growing.

She said in 2023, there were 253 full-time equivalents that needed to be filled.

One of the solutions the province has been trying is to introduce more travel nurses.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said contract nursing expenses over the 2023-24 fiscal year (April to March) was $89.8M.

Is the plan working? Zambory doesn’t think so.

“Our nurses have said, ‘thank god there’s someone there with a pulse’… well that’s a pretty low bar isn’t it now?”

She said time and effort could better …