The failure of NZ First and the National Party to deliver on their policy to "ensure Plunket is funded to do their job properly" is stopping newborn babies and their mums getting the care they deserve, a new survey has found.
The survey of 278 New Zealand Nurses Organisation members found Plunket nurses are so stretched 36% don’t have time to help with breastfeeding and a further 40% don’t have time to provide support for postnatal depression.
It comes as documents released under the Official Information Act show that despite the NZ First and National policy (page 8), there was no budget bid from Ministers to achieve this and the iconic New Zealand institution has received funding under the level of inflation this Parliamentary term.
NZNO delegate and Plunket community Karitane worker Dana Struthers says the survey revealed underfunding has created excessive workloads with one-third of Plunket nurses supporting seven or more tamariki a day. Such pressure has resulted in 60% of Plunket workers thinking about leaving their jobs in the past six months.
"Plunket workers say they are so busy rushing between appointments, some only have time to 'weigh, measure and get out the door'.
"Plunket is so much more than that. We are often the only health workers to go into homes after a new baby. We need to have enough time with whānau to discuss important issues such as safe sleeping, maternal mental health and family violence," Dana Struthers says.
Other survey findings include that 73% believe understaffing has increased their stress levels and 58% don't believe Plunket staffing levels are adequate to meet the needs of the communities they support. Concerningly, 40% say they don't have enough time to reassure anxious and concerned new parents and 31% don't have enough time to screen for family violence or safety concerns.
"Underfunding Plunket means the whānau we support don't get the level of care they deserve," Dana Struthers says.
NZ First Associate Health Minister Casey Costello told RNZ in September that funding for Plunket was "in line with the coalition agreement" and had increased by 17.5% since the Coalition Government took office.
However, Te Whatu Ora has now said there was an error in the figures provided by Casey Costello and the increase over the term of the Coalition Government was 9.85%.
NZNO delegate and Plunket nurse Angela Meikle says the Minister has some explaining to do to Plunket workers and the whānau they care for.
"The Minister is being disingenuous at best. Inflation over the same period was 10.10%. This means there has been no funding increase for Plunket in real terms. Far from funding us properly, the Government is merely managing the decline of our services.
"To add insult to injury, NZ First Leader Winston Peters hasn't responded to a letter from 480 of Plunket workers sent in August urging him to keep his promise," Angela Meikle says.
NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter says the Nurses Organisation has “significant concerns” about incorrect information on Plunket funding provided to media by the office of Casey Costello.
“NZNO calls on Minister Costello to explain how this mistake with official data was made. She also needs to reassure the public there was no deliberate effort by her office to inflate the figures so she can claim the Government has fulfilled their coalition agreement policy to “properly” fund Plunket,” Paul Goulter says.
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