According to a Ministry of Health document, hospitals and long-term care homes in Ontario, Canada, spent nearly $1 billion in 2023 to fill shifts with nurses and personal support workers from private staffing firms, The Canadian Press reported.

Citing a November 2023 staffing agency update obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, the news portal reported that agency use increased from 2021-2022 to 2022-2023 in hospitals and long-term care, including hours worked and total costs. Hospitals and long-term care homes rely on staffing firms to fill shifts during staff shortages. However, healthcare staffing firms charge double or even triple the regular hourly rate for temporary nurses and personal support workers, according to hospitals and long-term care homes.

“Staffing issues persist in hospitals and long‐term care homes; vacancy rates remain consistent despite the addition of staff through HHR (health human resource) programs,” the ministry’s capacity and health workforce planning branch wrote.

“This is due to migration of staff away from hospitals/long-term care to other sectors (public health, telehealth) and agencies [as well as] overall higher demand for staff due to the capacity that is being added in the system (increase in hospital and long‐term beds, etc.).”