The Honourable Krista Lynn Howell, Minister of Health and Community Services, is today providing further direction to Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services to ensure financial accountability following a report by the Office of the Auditor General that outlined concerns on health sector contracts by the provincial health authority.

The new directives are in addition to previous steps already taken by the provincial health authority to ensure appropriate fiscal and budgetary control of expenditures, demonstrate responsible expenditure management, and reduce its reliance on the use of agency nurses.

Minister Howell has directed NL Health Services to:

• Expedite the immediate comprehensive audit recommended by the Auditor General, report any fraudulent findings to the appropriate authorities in accordance with the fraud management policy, and recover any public funds paid in error.
• Engage the Board of Trustees and Chief Executive Officer, based on the findings of the Auditor General, to determine whether appropriate action has been taken, disciplinary action up to and including termination, or training where warranted, and report to the department.
• Inclusion of the Deputy Ministers of Finance and Health and Community Services as observers to future Board of Trustee meetings.​
• Review processes and approvals related to contract management and leased accommodations to determine where existing processes and approvals failed. ​
• Revise and make public the plan to reduce reliance on agency nurses and report directly to the Board of Trustees and the Department of Health and Community Services on key performance indicators.
• Immediately engage a third party to assist in providing timely and detailed budget monitoring, as previously directed. ​
• Immediately develop and implement its internal audit function, as previously directed.

In addition, the department will formally ask the Comptroller General’s Professional Services and Internal Audit division to ensure the recommendations of the Auditor General have been implemented.

Minister Howell has also directed NL Health Services to ensure all directions listed above have been completed by the end of August.

To date, actions by the health authority have reduced the current number of agency staff to 259 from 357 last March. Progress is also being made to hire more RNs and nurse practitioners.

• Registered nurse vacancies reduced from 418 to 280 from October 2024 to April 2025.
• Nurse practitioner vacancies reduced from 82 to 65 from October 2024 to April 2025.

Over 1,300 nurses, including registered nurses, nurse practitioners and licensed practical nurses were recruited to NL Health Services between April 2023 and June 2025.

More details on the department’s recruitment and retention activities are available in the backgrounder below.

Quotes
“While there was an urgent need to hire agency nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure local nurses could receive time away from work, patients could continue to receive care, and some facilities could remain open, the report by the Office of the Auditor General identified where improvements need to be made. Progress has already been made on previous direction for the health authority to limit spending and reduce its use of agency nurses. We have the utmost confidence that the CEO of the provincial health authority will implement all additional necessary steps to ensure all proper measures are put into place.”
Honourable Krista Lynn Howell
Minister of Health and Community Services

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BACKGROUNDER

Key accomplishments of the recruitment and retention of nurses.

• Registered nurse vacancies reduced from 418 to 280 between October 2024 to April 2025.
• Nurse practitioner vacancies reduced from 82 to 65 between October 2024 to April 2025.
• More than 1,300 nurses including nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses recruited to NL Health Services April 2023 and June 2025.
• Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) seats increased by 25 per cent in 2022 for a total of 363 seats across the province.​
• Nurse practitioner seats doubled to 40 in 2023​.
• More than 90 per cent BScN 2025 graduates accepted full-time employment with NL Health Services.
• Almost 400 offers have been accepted through the India and Dubai recruitment missions​. To date, more than 220 have arrived.
• In 2024, the Provincial Government signed an agreement with Employment and Social Development Canada to support labour market integration and settlement of internationally educated nurses recruited as part of the India mission.​

• An additional $100 million annually through the most recent collective agreement in salary and benefit increases, including long service pay, retention bonuses, and ongoing permanent full-time $5,000 annual incentive pilot project
• Recruitment incentives range from $20,000 to $40,000 for nurse practitioners who commit to work within a family care team in the province for a one-year return in service agreement.
• Dedicated child care spaces have been established to meet the needs of shift-workers.
• More than $3.2 million has been funded to create safer workplaces.
• A Provincial Nursing Network has been established to implement initiatives such as the federal nurse retention toolkit.
• Enhanced bursaries up to $20,000 for the 2025 graduating class are available to fill rural and remote positions.
• Mental health supports are provided throughout NL Health Services to support health care workers.
• The Registering Nurses Regulations have been amended to make it easier for nurses educated outside of the province to work here.