Nursing reports

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 26 November 2019

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) welcomes Learning from adverse events: Te ako I ngā pāpono kōaro, released by the Health & Safety Commission last week.

However, NZNO Professional Nursing Adviser Kate Weston says the yearly report is once again evidence of an under-resourced health system that is putting the wellbeing of New Zealanders at risk.

“More than 50 percent of the 916 reported adverse events relate to clinical care and indicate under-staffing. Failure to rescue, for example, which has risen by an alarming 28 percent, happens when staff are busy and stretched. The high number of pressure injuries reported are also evidence of not having enough time to deliver proper care.”

Ms Weston says factors mentioned in the report reflect what NZNO members say across the country about too few nursing staff to meet ever-increasing patient needs.

“The report confirms the incredible stress nurses, midwives and health care assistants are under every day. How many times do we need to be reminded that the health system is not sufficiently resourced for employers to meet their obligations around safe staffing? How many adverse events will it take?”

The report suggests the increase in recorded serious events could be the result of better reporting, while acknowledging this should not be assumed. Ms Weston says, however, that the notion of better reporting has been around for too long to continue as an acceptable explanation and that the increases are more likely to relate to workloads, insufficient staffing and poor skills mix – which the report also acknowledges.

“Many of those affected by adverse events are our most vulnerable, such as the elderly. Apart from the pain and suffering caused, many will no longer be able to live independently, which is a huge cost to them on a personal and financial level, and to the health system funded by tax payers.”

Ms Weston said the report was a valuable tool and indicator of the need for increased spending on health. But she questioned the lack of security and staff safety reports.

“We are well aware there has been a significant increase in violence and aggression towards staff, and we also know this is being underreported because internal systems and policies around staff safety also tend to fail when staffing resources are stretched.”

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

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 15 November 2019

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation says a Hawke’s Bay District Health Board (DHB) decision to shut the health centre at Wairoa Hospital and transfer some 300 patients to the care of a private provider is socially irresponsible and will leave nurses in the area high and dry, and without jobs.

The private provider will not take on the staff currently working at the DHB-owned health centre meaning five nurses will need to find work at Hastings Hospital 130kms away or lose their jobs entirely in an area with high unemployment.

NZNO Organiser Stephanie Thomas says members have complained that the DHB failed to meet the terms of the NZNO-DHB multi-employer collective agreement (MECA) because it announced the decision without any consultation.

“Hawke’s Bay DHB says this is a ‘business decision’ so it didn’t need to consult. Our question is how can decisions like that be made – decisions that will have tragic outcomes for hard-working nursing staff – without seeking input from those affected so all options could be explored?

“These are people who have made their lives in Wairoa. They are sometimes the sole breadwinners, they have purchased houses, their kids attend schools and they are part of their local community.”

There are no current nursing vacancies at Wairoa and the DHB has said it will work with staff to find reasonable redeployment options, but Ms Thomas says none of the options are reasonable.

“Basically our nurses are left with very few options. If they don’t want to lose their jobs they will need to either commute four hours a day or uproot their families and move to Hastings – if there are jobs available there and that’s not guaranteed.”

Ms Thomas says the DHB needs to take its social responsibilities more seriously.

“We know funds are tight for DHBs around the country but once again it is nursing staff who bear the brunt, and whose lives will be seriously affected by money-saving decisions.”

She says the affected nurses, ironically, are continuing to work with patients to ensure their transfer to the new provider goes smoothly and with a minimum of stress.

“Nurses shouldn’t have to work sacrificially but often do because they are caring professionals, but the sacrifice being asked of them here is unfair and unnecessary. Hawke’s Bay DHB management need to have a serious re-think about their obligations to the nursing staff who have worked with and for them in good faith to help meet the health needs of the people of Wairoa.”

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

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) says changes proposed to staffing for the CREST service proposed by Canterbury District Health Board (DHB) will reduce the quality of care available to older persons in Christchurch and surrounding areas.

The Community Rehabilitation Enablement Support Team (CREST) cares for the health of older persons when they are first discharged from hospital so they spend less time on return hospital visits and remain in their own homes longer – instead of in residential care.

NZNO Professional Nursing Adviser Marg Bigsby said NZNO members are very concerned the changes would disestablish 17FTE of experienced nurses (including two leadership roles), replacing them with just five ‘liaison staff’ and one clinical nurse specialist (CNS). Case management work would then be contracted to private community providers.

“Depending on who is appointed to  the liaison and CNS positions, this represents a loss of 11-16 experienced nurses to CREST, which would have serious impacts on the care available to older persons in the region, especially when they are leaving hospital. This is something Canterbury older persons’ health services can ill-afford,” Ms Bigsby said.

“Our members are also concerned about people being employed who were unfamiliar with the CREST service and the possible lack of case management expertise when work is given out to community providers.

“Many of these providers are already quite underfunded and short-staffed so they will struggle to provide care to the standard they would like and which currently exists. It will be a systemic problem.”

NZNO is also concerned about the failure of the DHB to collaborate with or consult CREST staff.

“Case managers learned about the proposed changes from nurses in community providers before they had heard anything about them directly, which is a completely unacceptable violation of professional confidentiality,” Ms Bigsby said.

NZNO made a submission today to Canterbury DHB opposing the changes, suggesting alternatives and calling for nursing expertise to remain in-house. Ms Bigsby said CREST nurses are invested in the service and that she hopes the DHB will listen to their voices.

At NZNO’s encouragement more than 160 health professionals around the region including doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, have sent letters to Canterbury DHB CEO David Meates opposing the changes and in support of the nurses’ call for a rethink.

Ms Bigsby said the CREST service supports elderly to regain independence and quality of life following a stay in hospital.  Without its support the focus will inevitably fall on just the basics – and there is so much more to life than merely being able to wash and dress yourself or go to the toilet.

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

More information:

The spokesperson for this media release is Professional Nursing Advisor (Canterbury) Marg Bigsby, who would be happy to be interviewed. However, NZNO can also provide media access to an NZNO delegate working in the CREST team. Please contact Rob Zorn (as above). 

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 17 September 2019

The 2019 NZNO Award of Honour was presented tonight to Porirua-based Pacific Nurse Sipaia Kupa at the NZNO Awards Dinner in Wellington.

The Award of Honour is given to an NZNO member who (among many other criteria) has made a noteworthy contribution to the work of NZNO and has had a positive impact on nursing in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ms Kupa is a New Zealand-trained registered nurse of Tokelau, Cook Island and Tuvalu descent. She has worked mostly in Wellington at Capital & Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) and amongst the Pacific community. Her roles have included being a lecturer on the Bachelor of Nursing Pacific programme at Whitireia; Psychogeriatric speciality nursing, and working as a duly authorised officer with the Mental Health Crisis Resolution Service.  She currently works as a Senior Systems Development Manager for Pacific Peoples at CCDHB and, since 2015, has contracted to the Nursing Council as a Professional Development assessor.

She has been an active member of NZNO’s Pacific Nursing Section and her nominators say her passion for progressing the profile of Pacific nursing is evident in her numerous involvements at a leadership or governance level in various community-based organisations outside her regular work.

Sipaia says she is thankful to the Pacific Nurses Section for her nomination and to NZNO for the award.  She regards this as an honour and wishes to pay tribute to her family and the great teachers she has had who have supported her work and service to Pacific and non-Pacific communities.

The 2019 NZNO Award of Honour is a prestigious award conferred by NZNO every second year. Recipients are given honorary membership of NZNO and a gold badge of recognition. They are also given a trophy which they hold for two years. It is then returned for the next recipient. A person can only receive the NZNO Award of Honour once.

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

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 17 September 2019

The 2019 NZNO Awards for Service to Nursing or Midwifery were presented tonight at the NZNO Awards Dinner at Te Papa in Wellington. The awards recognise nurses or midwives who have made a difference to the practice and practice environment of nursing or midwifery at a national level. Recipients must be NZNO members and are as follows:

Angeline Hekau (Auckland)

Angeline Hekau hails from Niue Island and is well-respected in the Pacific mental health sector. She has worked at Counties Manukau Health since 1999 with Pacific peoples, and is currently the Clinical Lead – Pacific for Pacific Mental Health, Integrated Care North.

Through the tripartite agreement between the Niue Government, Counties Manukau Health and the New Zealand Agency for International Development she held nurse-led clinics in Niue Island annually from 2007 to 2016. She is a founding member and Chair of Penina Health Trust (2001) which provides mental health and addiction support services and transitional housing in South Auckland. NZNO has given the award in recognition of Angeline’s wonderful services to nursing and Pacific communities.

Angeline says: “I am very honoured to be given this award and would like to thank NZNO and the NZNO Pacific Nursing Section, Counties Manukau Health, all the Pacific nurses and the people of Niue here in Aotearoa and Niue Island.”

Dr Michal Boyd (Auckland)

Dr Michal Boyd is an academic who also practices as a gerontology nurse practitioner with the School of Nursing, University of Auckland, and in aged residential care facilities. She was the first older adults nurse practitioner registered in New Zealand and has worked tirelessly in this field since her arrival in Aotearoa New Zealand early this century. She is said to have a passion that connects her to others and enhances her message and she continues to break through barriers. She is now engaged in her own clinical practice model delivering general health services to older people in Auckland.

Kim Brooks (Rotorua/Auckland)

Kim Brooks has been a nurse for more than 40 years and has a true passion for the care of older people. She is currently completing her fourth term as treasurer for the NZNO College of Gerontology Nursing. She has had a number of leadership and management roles, including Associate Director of Nursing, Surgical Services at Taupō Hospital, and Director of Nursing at Metlifecare and Director of Nursing at Elizabeth Knox Home and Hospital. She is currently working for Radius Care Facility as a Clinical Manager. She has advocated for gerontology nurses and aged care throughout her work  and as a representative to the Health of Older People Strategy workshops and Funding Review workshops in Aged Care.

Diane Noble (Palmerston North)

Diane Noble is a Manawatu palliative care nurse of Waikato, Ngāti Koroki and Taranaki descent. She is actively involved in NZNO’s Te Rūnanga at a regional level. She has worked with energy and passion for Māori in a variety of nursing and community settings, including being President of the No Ngā Hau e Whā branch of the Māori Women’s Welfare League. She currently works at Palmerston North’s Arohanui Hospice, which bases its services on Mason Durie’s Te Whare Tapa Whā model of care. She embraces Tikanga Māori and believes good palliative care includes supporting the patient and their whānau not only physically, but spiritually.

Gae Redshaw (Wairoa)

Gae Redshaw is described by her nominators as an ‘unsung angel’ who gives fully to her Wairoa community. They say she’s creative, warm, intuitive and a fierce advocate for those under her care. Her long-standing passion is with Palliative Care and has extended over a career of 30 years. She is a role model of “excellence in practice” setting the highest standards of care and professionalism. And she does all this humbly and quietly, never seeking recognition.

Gae says: “I am honoured to receive this special recognition, which also says much about the largesse of spirit and work ethic of my colleagues in the Wairoa District Nursing Team. In this team respect, advocacy and the value of relationships underpins best care for those in our community and for each other.”

Judy Warren (Hamilton)

Judy Warren has had an outstanding nursing career which began in the Waikato in 1998 and has included being a Registered Nurse, Associate Charge Nurse Manager, Clinical Nurse Specialist and Project Manager. She has a specialty focus in colorectal services and has been chair of the NZNO Stomal Therapy Nurses Section and is past chair of the NZNO Cancer Nurses College. She was also active in the Cancer Nurses College committee that helped bring the International Conference of Cancer Nursing to Aotearoa New Zealand for the first time in 2018. Throughout her career Judy has been a strong advocate for patient care and outcomes, and enjoys much respect and mana from her nursing and medical colleagues.  

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

Media advisory 16 September 2019

Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington

Leaving no one behind: Health for all

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) Annual Conference will take place 18 September 2019 in Wellington. Once again it will be a showcase of pride and celebration around nurses’ and nursing’s achievements, as well as a major forum for discussing issues facing nurses, midwives and health care workers.

NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku said the conference theme: Leaving no one behind, Health for all, is fitting, given the inequalities and inequities our communities currently face.

“Growing inequalities can be attributed to apathetic politics that don’t address the issues or need for urgent change. This has led to many lagging behind and nurses need to be courageous and prepared to lead the change. This conference will be about inspiring collective action to ensure that as a union and professional organisation we leave no one behind.”

NZNO President Grant Brookes says the conference will be an opportunity to listen, debate, resolve differences and come together around new shared perspectives.

“I think sharing time together, celebrating our achievements and listening to cross sector leaders speak will help us raise our sights and embrace the vision: Leaving no one behind; Health for all.”

Keynote speakers:

8.40am: Dr Jamie Boyd – Opening address
Expanding historical nursing roles to include holistic healing practices in response to the health needs of communities

9.20am: Q&A with Hon Dr David Clark, Minister of Health

10:25am: Judge Andrew Becroft, Children’s Commissioner
Being Child-centred: Fad or Foundation?”

11:10a: Dr Sione Vaka, Senior Lecturer, AUT

11:45am: Annalyn Ulunga, Mercy Hospice
Hospice Nurses: Vital link in meeting cultural and palliative needs of terminally ill Tongan patients and their families

1:15p: Seletute Vave Patterson, Public Health Nurse, Auckland District Health Board
Starship Community: School-based health care through an equity lens

NZNO Awards

Three NZNO awards will be presented at the Conference dinner (Tuesday 17 September, 7pm, Te Papa):

• NZNO Award of Honour
• Service to Nursing and Midwifery
• Service to NZNO.

Media releases about these awards (embargoed until 8pm) will be issued on Tuesday 17 September.

Media are welcome to attend and report on the conference. Please contact Rob Zorn, NZNO Media and Communications Advisor: 027 431 2617, rob.zorn@nzno.org.nz.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 13 September 2019

Plunket nurses, health workers and administrators voted on 12 September to accept a landmark pay offer. The Collective Agreement signed with Plunket covers 800 members of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO), and is its largest single employer agreement.

The deal includes pay parity with DHB MECA rates, implementation of the living wage as a minimum starting salary, and, for the first time, paid parental leave topped up to 14 weeks to match average weekly earnings. The bargaining spanned 12 days and was concluded when additional funding was agreed between Plunket and the Ministry of Health.

NZNO Organiser Danielle Davies said the high level of member participation at every point of these negotiations was critical to the success of the bargaining.

“From the start of our campaign, members gave their bargaining team a strong mandate for what was required to get a deal over the line,” she said.

Ms Davies also acknowledged the current industrial environment’s impact on reaching a settlement.

“The past couple of years have been quite pleasing in terms of activism and industrial campaigning across the union movement.

“This increased member participation in bargaining and associated campaigns has been recognised by employers and Plunket has been no exception. When members are fully involved in bargaining things work out to everybody’s benefit.”

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

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 6 September 2019

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) is challenging proposed staffing changes at two facilities run by Presbyterian Support Southland (PSS), saying they will reduce standards of patient care and put extra strain on nursing and care staff, and that they are being justified on out-of-date guidelines.

NZNO Organiser Simone Montgomery said that across its hospital services and two rest homes (Vickery Court in Invercargill and Rest Haven in Gore), the PSS proposals would cut net staff care by around 157 hours per week – and, she said, this comes after net care hours were cut by 114 per week last year.

“The staff reductions are being justified by the claim that PSS services are currently over-staffed according to the 2005 Aged Care Staffing Guidelines, but we have been saying for some time that these standards are hopelessly out-of-date and do not account for the increased number of people in aged care, or for their increasingly complex needs.

“The clear message in all of this to current staff, who are already overstretched, is that somehow they aren’t working well or hard enough, and that’s ridiculous.”

In March this year NZNO and E tū released their joint report: In safe hands? How poor staffing levels and rationed care are harming aged care residents and staff. The research surveyed 1194 people working in aged care facilities and found that three quarters (73.45 percent) of those surveyed either disagreed or strongly disagreed that staffing levels were sufficient to provide quality care for residents.

The report called for a review of the existing standards and that new resulting standards be made compulsory. The 2005 standards currently in place are voluntary.

The rationale for the staffing reductions is that DHB funding for aged care does not cover staff that would be considered ‘extra’ when staffing levels are compared to the 2005 Guidelines, but Ms Montgomery said the proper solution should be to seek increased funding and not reduce standards of care to save money.

“We think New Zealanders care very much about the health, wellbeing and dignity of our seniors and would agree that the way we care for them reflects back on all of us,” she said.

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

NZNO media release, 27 August 2019

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) has released the full but partially redacted version of an independent review into its bargaining processes for the 2017/18 District Health Board (DHB) Multi-Employer Collective Agreement (MECA). An independent review was commissioned due to the lengthy and complex nature of the negotiations and NZNO wanted to learn what had gone well and would could be improved for future bargaining.

The final independent review report was received by NZNO in late July and NZNO Chief Executive Memo Musa said the decision to release it fairly quickly in full was due to the high level of interest in its findings on the part of NZNO members and the public; and because NZNO wanted to be transparent about what the report found.

The released report includes the list of recommendations and NZNO’s response to them. Portions of the report itself have been redacted to protect the anonymity of both contributors to the review and the confidentiality of NZNO staff.

“We believe the review has been thorough and that it is very clear about what went well and about what NZNO can improve on for future bargaining. The report makes 15 recommendations and I am pleased to announce that we have adopted them all and that we’re already working to implement them.

“We accept we need to do some things better, but I think it is important that we don’t lose sight of the significant improvements we did achieve for nurses in 2018. I am very proud of the negotiating team and the report also clearly upholds their skills, experience and professionalism.”

He said that those improvements included pay rises of up to 15 per cent; Ministry and DHB commitment to safer staffing and the employment of nearly 500 new nurses; and a commitment to pay equity by the end of this year that would bring nursing wages into line with those of similar male-dominated professions.

“As an organisation, and as a result of improvements we will make arising from the review, NZNO feels very confident about its planning for the 2020 DHB-MECA negotiations, which is already underway.”

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

-More information-

The independent review report is available at the NZNO website:

www.nzno.org.nz/Portals/0/publications/2019-08-27-DHB-MECA-Review-Report-Redacted.pdf

New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) media release, 10 August 2019

The Tapuhi Kaitiaki Awards were presented tonight during the Awards Dinner at the Indigenous Nurses Aotearoa Conference at the Pullman Hotel, Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland).

The Awards are now in their second year and are one way in which PHARMAC supports Te Rūnanga of Aoteaoroa, NZNO to develop the Māori nursing workforce to achieve the best health outcomes. They are also to recognise the positive influence Māori nurses have on whānau and the role they play as key influencers of health.

The Tapuhi Kaitiaki Awards are in two categories, with winners sharing a $10,000.00 prize in each category.

Category 1 – Nurse Practitioner/Nurse Prescriber – acknowledges Māori nurses who are on a professional development journey to become a nurse prescriber to advance their clinical practice and expertise.

Jo Clark-Fairclough (Te Rarawa, Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Paoa) is a practice nurse at Te Hiku Hauora, a Māori iwi provider in Kaitāia, and one winner in this category. She says her motivation to become a nurse prescriber came from a lack of GP hours within the clinics she works at.

“This is a real barrier to young Māori receiving timely health care, and my becoming a nurse prescriber will improve health outcomes for our high Māori populations within Te Tai Tokerau.”

The other three winners in this category were:

• Pirihira Puata (Ngai Takoto) a Nurse Prescriber at Mana Kidz, a free, nurse-led, school-based programme in the Counties Manukau Health region
• Eve Pogai (Ngāti Kahungungu) a Practice Nurse on the Nurse Practitioner Pathway who works at Kids in the Hawke’s Bay
• Aroha Ruha-Hiraka (Ngāti Awa, Tuwharetoa, Te Arawa, Tūhoe, Taranaki) a Practice Nurse on the Nurse Practitioner pathway

Category 2 – Māori Nurse Mātauranga – acknowledges nurses and tauira who wish to further their study and/or develop an innovative way to help whānau, hapū and iwi to access and understand their medicines.

One recipient in this category was Tamarah Thomason-Tata, (Rongowhakaata), a third year Bachelor of Nursing student at the Eastern Institute of Technology. She says she was quite surprised to receive this award, but that she feels very privileged and grateful to be a recipient.

“Awards like these help encourage Māori to excel in their chosen fields, whilst providing them financial means to further themselves. For myself these funds will go towards my student loan and state final exams – stepping stones to further my education and career.”

The other winners in this category were:

• Tumanako Bidois (Ngāti  Rangiwewehi) who is completing her final year, Bachelor of Nursing at the University of Auckland
• Serene Morrell (Ngāti  Kahungunu), a First year Bachelor of Nursing student at the Eastern Institute of Technology
• Tracy Black (Ngai Tūhoe, Ngāti  Kahungunu, Te Whakatohea), a third year Māori nursing student at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi
• Logan Murray, (Te Rarawa), a second year Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery student at the University of Otago.

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