Nursing reports

NZNO media release, 14 November 2018

NZNO nurses and health care assistants (HCAs) will join colleagues in various professions, and from three other unions, in a 24 hour strike over a breakdown in their collective agreement negotiation with East Coast PHO Ngāti Porou Hauora (NPH). The strike will take place from 7.00am 27 November to 7.00am 28 November 2018.

NZNO, Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku says registered nurses working for NPH earn $14,000 per year less than their colleagues working in district health boards (DHBs) and enrolled nurses working for NPH earn less than HCAs whose wages are covered by the Pay Equity Settlement Act.

Despite this, NPH’s current offer amounts to no more than 2 percent, with some staff being offered no increase at all. Last year staff narrowly voted to accept a 0 percent pay increase but now say they have had enough of being poorly paid and want to be treated fairly and with the respect they deserve.

Rural health nurse Gina Chaffey-Aupouri (Ngāti Porou) says NPH nurses and health care assistants are caring people who are key to addressing the incredibly high health needs in the area.

“We just want to be paid the same as our colleagues working down the road who have the same qualifications and experience as we do,” she says.

“It’s just not fair to anybody. We already face so many barriers because we’re away from the main centres and we just can’t attract new staff when they can earn so much more working elsewhere. So we carry on, and we do the extra hours because we’re understaffed. We love and care for our people, but enough is enough and somebody has to stop and listen.”

NZNO organiser Christina Couling says the four unions (NZNO, the PSA, FIRST and E tū) want a fair pay increase for their members and a plan from NPH about how it will address stagnating wages and pay inequities between these and other nurses. No plan has been forthcoming despite negotiations having taken place for nearly a year.

“What we have here is another clear case of inequity and underinvestment in rural communities that have a significant proportion of Māori, and people in poverty with high health needs,” she says

“It’s fundamentally unjust when a DHB will not give its health providers the funding required to pay nurses at the same rate as nurses working in DHBs – despite them having the same qualifications, expertise and importance. It should not be left to hard-working, dedicated nurses to bear the brunt when finances are tight.

“Nobody wants to strike but when the health of the people in the iwi and region hangs in the balance like this, there really is no other option.”

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617.

29 October 2018

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) welcomes the Law Commission’s report outlining three alternative legal models for treating abortion as a health issue rather than a criminal one. NZNO, which made a submission on the issue and was part of the Law Commission’s wider health sector consultations, says it’s pleased nurses’ voices have been heard.

NZNO Professional Nursing Advisor Kate Weston says nurses play a huge role in women’s reproductive health and are much more likely to have ongoing relationships with patients than the consultants currently required to approve abortions.

“NZNO’s position is pretty clearly outlined in Model A, which would put decision-making around an abortion in the hands of the pregnant person in consultation with their health practitioner. This would remove red tape and harmful delays and better equip women to take charge of their own health.”

Kate Weston says she would like to see a more humane and sensible approach to abortion become part of an integrated health strategy for women and girls that encompasses all issues related to reproductive health, including fair access to PHARMAC-funded medicines.

“NZNO applauds the Law Commission for its report and looks forward to playing a continuing role in developing legislation that recognises abortion as a health issue and protects women’s reproductive autonomy.”

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617.

18 October 2018

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) supports the New Zealand Educational Institute’s (NZEI’s) strong stand over pay that may result in regional primary school teacher strikes in November. However, it is encouraging all parties to resolve issues urgently in a way that reflects the true value of New Zealand teachers and avoids the need for strikes.

NZNO Acting Industrial Services Manager Glenda Alexander said nursing and teaching face similar issues in that poor pay and stressful working conditions have resulted in ongoing problems around morale and fewer people staying in or joining the profession.

“Like nurses, teachers do work of immense value and there should be no question of this being reflected in the way they are paid. We agree with the NZEI that this is ultimately about the future of education and is therefore an important issue for all New Zealanders.

“NZNO encourages the Government, Ministry of Education and NZEI to work together urgently to find a solution that: avoids the need for strike action in November; recognises and rewards teachers now; and ensures the attractiveness of teaching as a profession into the future.”

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617.

NZNO media advisory, 17 October 2018

Registered nurses, health care assistants and cleaners at Lynton Lodge Hospital in Auckland are to picket for an hour in protest over failing pay negotiations.

When: Thursday 18 October, 4.30-5.30pm
Where: Corner of West End Rd and Fife St, Westmere, Auckland
Spokesperson: Sarah Barker, Organiser, New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO)

Background:

NZNO has been negotiating to renew a collective agreement (CA) with Sunrise Healthcare which took over management of Lynton Lodge Hospital around one year ago. Sunrise had agreed to retain the existing CA.

However, the latest pay offer from Sunrise has been rejected by NZNO members.

• For cleaners at the hospital there is no offered pay rise beyond the increase to the minimum wage (required last April).
• For registered nurses (RNs) with four years’ service the pay offer is just 13 cents per hour. Those with three years’ service have been offered just two cents.

Health care assistants at Lynton Lodge Hospital (whose pay is now regulated through the Care and Support Workers Pay Equity Settlement) have voted to support their RN and cleaner colleagues by joining the picket.

Of interest:

Many staff at Lynton Lodge have long service there. Lynton Lodge was the winner of the 2015/16 Aged Advisor People’s Choice Award for Best Aged Care (Small) Facility, and was a finalist for the same award in 2017.

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Media inquiries:Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617

NZNO media release 12 October 2018

More than 300 nursing leaders will convene in Rarotonga on Monday (15 October) for the 19^th South Pacific Nurses Forum and AGM.

The theme for the Forum this year is Transforming Leadership: Nurses as Change Agents for Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the Pacific.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku said nurses must be positioned as partners in redesigning and advancing health care to address the challenges NCDs bring.

“NCDs, such as heart disease and diabetes, are probably the greatest health challenge Pacific countries now face and we as nurses are at the coalface in this challenge. We deal with the deaths and illnesses caused by NCDs every day and we need to lead the way in prevention and management to improve the health of Pacific people.”

Kerri Nuku will be part of an NZNO delegation to the Forum. The delegation will also include NZNO, NZNO President Grant Brookes, NZNO Pacific Section Chair Eseta Finau, NZNO Kaumātua Keelan Ransfield and NZNO Chief Executive Memo Musa.

A communique will be produced after the AGM that will make statements and recommendations about the strategic direction for nursing for members of the SPNF and Pacific countries.

High profile keynote speakers at the Forum will include World Health Organization Chief Nurse Elizabeth Iro, International Council of Nurses President Annette Kennedy and Chief Advisor Pacific Health (New Zealand Ministry of Health) Matafanua Hilda Fa’asalele.  

New Zealand presenters at the Forum will include nursing leaders and experts from Auckland University of Technology, Alliance Health Plus, Manukau Institute of Technology, Victoria University of Wellington, Te Piki Oranga Ltd, Counties Manukau District Health Board, Auckland Diabetes Centre and the Office of the Chief Nursing Officer (Ministry of Health).

The forum meets every two years.

More information, including a full programme, is available at http://www.spnf.org.au/.

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617.

10 October 2018

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) is urging ministerial delegates to the Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation to vote in favour of mandatory, government-developed health warning labels on all alcohol products.

As a “key stakeholder with an interest in women’s health,” the organisation has signed an open letter to the Forum asking that Food Standards Australia New Zealand be tasked with developing an effective, consumer-tested labelling standard.

The Forum meets on 11 October and NZNO expects some ministerial delegates will toe the alcohol industry line that current voluntary labelling is sufficient, or that mandatory labelling will impinge on alcohol companies’ intellectual property rights.

NZNO Professional Nursing Adviser Kate Weston said women have a right to know if a product could cause harm to themselves or their baby, but that not all women who are pregnant, or who might become pregnant, were aware of those potential harms.

“Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is associated with a range of adverse consequences including miscarriage, preterm birth and stillbirth. Meanwhile hazardous drinking rates for women are rising.

“The Ministry of Health estimates that one in 100 babies is born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and that’s caused by exposure to alcohol in the womb. We think it’s ridiculous to argue that warnings are unnecessary or that the tiny warnings currently on the back of less than half of all alcohol products are sufficient.”

She said FASD significantly hinders development in childhood and that the effects are lifelong and have no cure.

“How can we sincerely suggest that the intellectual property rights of the alcohol industry are more important than the intellectual wellbeing of one in 100 of our children?

“FASD and these other health problems also affect families and whānau for life. They put a further strain on our health system, and that includes our nurses. Neonatal units are experiencing ever increasing capacity challenges due to babies being born having been exposed to alcohol in the womb, and a raft of problems flow on from that – including cots not being available for other babies.”

Ms Weston said leaving warnings up to the alcohol industry was clearly not working.  

“We have mandatory, government-supervised warnings on lots of dangerous substances, including tobacco. Alcohol should be no different, so NZNO is calling on ministers at the Forum to put the health of their populations above commercial interests and vote for a compulsory labelling system that will actually work.” 

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617.

Northland mental health nurse and advocate Moe Milne (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi) has been presented with the 2018 Akenehi Hei Memorial Award for her contribution to Māori mental health.

Moe Milne was a psychiatric nurse specialising in Māori mental health for many years and, as kaiwhakahaere for the Health and Disability Commission, she helped develop its mental health service guidelines – Ngā Tikanga Totika. She currently works as a cultural competency educator for mental health workforce development centre Te Pou o te Whakaaro Nui.

In an emotional ceremony at the Indigenous Nurses Aotearoa Conference on 11 August, previous winner Pareake O’Brien passed the pounamu, stone and pohutukawa award to Moe Milne, who said she felt “extremely humbled, but also very proud”.

The Akenehi Hei Memorial Award is presented every two years by Te Rūnanga o Aotearoa ­– a Tiriti o Waitangi partner to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) representing its Māori members. The Award is named after Akenehi Hei, the first Māori nurse and midwife to register under her own name rather than the name ‘Agnes’ given to her by her Pākehā employers.

NZNO kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku said Moe Milne was well known for her work supporting not only nurses, but every Māori who wants help.

“Moe’s dedication is a gift to all New Zealanders and I was very proud to present this award to such a great person who is so dedicated to Māori health needs and education.

“She generates the same aroha, manaakitanga and commitment to her people as Akenehi Hei and is truly inspirational for her contributions to Māori health and knowledge.”

Kerri Nuku said the award was Te Rūnanga’s most prized because of its mauri and the mana of Akenehi Hei.

This is not the first formal recognition for Moe Milne who was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2017 for her services to Māori health.

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617.

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation’s (NZNO’s) Young Nurse of the Year Award was presented at the organisation’s annual conference dinner on 19 September in Wellington.

For the second time in its five-year history the Award was given to two participants because the judging panel found both nominees equally impressive.

Award winner Annie Stevenson, a registered nurse working in the Kidz First Medical Ward at Middlemore Hospital, was nominated twice. Of Niuean descent, Annie’s first nomination was for her work on numerous projects including Lungs 4 Life, which seeks to reduce bronchiectasis among Māori and Pasifika populations.

A second nomination was for her passion for child protection and work around intimate partner violence and shaken baby prevention.

In presenting the award NZNO President Grant Brookes said Annie was an outstanding role model to all young nurses, but especially to young Pasifika nurses.

“Annie is impressive for her willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty. She has had a real impact on the lives of infants in the Counties Manukau community and in the island nation of Kiribati where she has worked as a volunteer.”

Joint winner Aroha Ruha-Hiraka, a practice nurse at Kawerau Medical Centre in the Bay of Plenty, was nominated for her passion for improving the health status of Māori through prevention and education­ – in particular her work with the Centre’s COPD management and smoking cessation programme.

NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku acknowledged Aroha’s use of Tikanga and Te Reo to create a safe and respectful environment when working with patients and their whānau, and said she truly deserves recognition for her hard work and dedication.

“You are a wonderful role model for young and Māori nurses, and we couldn’t agree more with staff at Kawerau Medical Centre who say they are lucky to have you.”

Runner up Te Rongopai Clay-Mackay, a young Plunket Nurse working in Porirua, was also acknowledged for her work towards improving health for Māori. She is the first Plunket nurse to deliver both Well Child and B4 School programmes in Te Reo Māori and Kerri Nuku said Te Rongopai stood out for being “a vibrant, committed and caring young nurse who has demonstrated an incredible amount of maturity and professionalism in her work.”

The 2018 Award winners and runner up were chosen from 14 nominations. The judging panel consisted of representatives from All District Health Boards, The Office of the Chief Nurse (Ministry of Health), the NZNO President, Kaiwhakahaere and nursing staff, and last year’s winner Jess Tiplady.

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor. 027 431 2617.

Each year the New Zealand Nurses Association (NZNO) presents Service to Nursing and Midwifery Awards as a way of recognising nurses or midwives who are NZNO members and who have made a positive difference to nursing or midwifery practice or practice environment.

This year there were four recipients of the Award which was presented at the NZNO Conference Dinner on 19 September in Wellington.

1. Sheryl Haywood (Ashburton)

Sheryl is a nurse practitioner in Ashburton providing comprehensive services to the frail elderly with complex diagnoses and management requirements. She is passionate about person-centred care and believes in building sustainable and trusting relationships with her clients. Her nominators say she is making a significant contribution to improving the lives of older people and that she inspires those lucky enough to work with her.

2. Siniva Leru-Cruikshank (South Auckland)

In her more than 40 years of nursing experience, Siniva has been very active as a nurse and in her communities in both New Zealand and Samoa. A matai (or Samoan chief) she was a founding member of NZNO’s Pacific Nurses Section, where she is acknowledged as an elder and she currently works with the Health Star Pacific Trust overseeing the Rheumatic Fever School Programme in South Auckland. She is a wonderful leader who readily shares her knowledge, skills and practice.

3. Vaifagaloa Naseri (Auckland)

Vaifagaloa is also a matai who was nominated for her extensive and generous contributions to Pacific nursing and Pacific communities. She has been a registered nurse and midwife working in both Samoa and New Zealand and has held a number of clinical, educational and managerial roles. These have included chairperson of the Pacific Women’s Data Advisory Group for the national cervical screening programme, Manager of the Pacific Breast Screening programme for Auckland, and as a committee member for NZNO’s Pacific Nursing Section. 

4. Leonie Metcalfe (Waikato)

Leonie has been an enrolled nurse at Waikato Hospital for 35 years. She has a long history of involvement with NZNO and is the enrolled nurse representative on Waikato DHB’s PDRP Council. Leonie was nominated for being a great advocate for enrolled nursing at every opportunity and for her extensive history of supporting colleagues in the workplace.

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor. 027 431 2617.

Legislation another milestone in pay equity journey

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) says it is incredibly pleased at today’s announcement that pay equity legislation has come before Parliament.

NZNO Industrial Services Manager Cee Payne says it is absolutely fitting because it was 125 years ago to the very day that the hard fight for women’s right to vote was won in New Zealand and strides toward future pay equity were made.

“This is a day upon which we honour the memory of those mighty suffragette women who came before us, and that it’s been exactly 125 years makes this legislation an especially appropriate milestone.”

She said after so many years, victory in the struggle for pay equity was now in sight.

“As the union and professional association with the largest female membership we believe it is essential that good legislation is in place that enable all women to achieve pay equity and make pay equity claims, whether or not they are covered by collective agreements.

“We also believe such legislation should have future-proofing built into it that will allow us to monitor that equal rates of pay are being maintained into the future.”

A process for achieving pay equity with settlements to be paid by 31 December 2019 was won by NZNO members working in DHBs who took industrial action in July.

Cee Payne says once pay equity is established in the DHB sector it will set the benchmark for members in non-DHB employment.

“Already we are seeing positive responses from employers in the private sector to the pay increases achieved in the DHB MECA bargaining, and this reflects a massive step forward for all nurses in New Zealand.”

She said, however, that the work of the union and its members in the pay equity journey will be ongoing.

“We will continue to build collective power until all women in our country have achieved pay equity. Today we celebrate this legislation and the journey and success so far. Like those early suffragettes, what we collectively achieve today and in our lifetimes will shape a better and more equal tomorrow.”

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Media inquiries: Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617.