Nursing reports

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 5 April 2023

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says it is not surprised that a leaked staff survey shows widespread lack of confidence that Te Whatu Ora restructuring will be of any benefit. The report reveals staff are feeling under-resourced and undervalued instead.

NZNO Chief Executive Paul Goulter said it appears Te Whatu Ora has become bound up in the changes and taken its eye off the crucial frontline.

“Nurses are feeling that disrespect every day. They’ve been working their guts out for years with little recognition of their value or contribution.

“Is it any wonder that 5000 have shown interest in moving to Australia in the last six months? That’s 5000 people whose main job it is to keep you and me alive and well.

“Is Te Whatu Ora, and the Government taking that seriously? We’re just not seeing any evidence of that, and it’s soul destroying for nurses.”

Paul Goulter says nurses are typically asked to do more and more to keep their workplaces running until overwork becomes the norm. Yet when they ask for resources or report abuse they feel ignored by senior management.

“Why would you want to keep working under those circumstances? Why wouldn’t you head off to greener pastures for better pay, better recognition and less stress? That’s what many of our members who have left for Australia are saying.”

He says if Te Whatu Ora wants to be taken seriously, it must address these short-term problems.

“The last thing we need is another winter of discontent, but that is exactly what’s coming. A complete change of focus is required and Te Whatu Ora needs to make keeping the nurses it has as its first priority – and that means showing them respect and paying them adequately.

“Next we have got to put massive resources into recruiting more nursing staff into training now, and removing the financial and logistical barriers that stop many nursing students graduating.

“Then we’ve got to sort out long-standing pay problems like Pay Equity for Te Whatu Ora nurses, and Pay Parity right across the health sector. We cannot afford not to do this or there won’t be any nurses left, and we’ll have no one ready to replace those who have already moved on.”

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

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 31 January 2023

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) welcomes Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health role.

NZNO Chief Executive Paul Goulter said the organisation and its members are looking forward to working with Ms Verrall in addressing years of neglect by successive governments that have resulted in acute staffing shortages and poor working conditions that affect patient safety and threaten the future of the nursing profession in Aotearoa New Zealand.

“We know Ms Verrall is aware of the urgent need to lift the number of trained and qualified nurses and to ensure pay and conditions are equal across the health system.

“Our hope is that, with the Government’s recently stated commitment to health, we can begin to meet nurses’ values and expectations so the right numbers of nurses are attracted into training and onto placements, and that those already in the profession will want to stay.

“In particular we look forward to working with Ms Verrall to increase number of Māori and Pasifika nurses and to building a Tiriti-based health system that is culturally appropriate so all communities receive the care they need.”

However, Paul Goulter said the ongoing pay equity dispute and lack of pay parity, where every nurse everywhere has the same pay and conditions according to their qualifications and experience, are among the biggest challenges the new Minister of Health will face this election year.

“The lack of pay parity results in acute shortages of nurses in various sectors, as they move into the higher paid parts of health or leave the sector entirely.

“This means some sectors, such as Primary Health Care, Māori and iwi, Aged Care etc, cannot find or keep staff which leads to shortages that reduce health services in communities leading to poorer patient outcomes.”

He said he’s sure Ms Verrall knows the enormity of the task ahead and how important it will be for Government to work together with unions and health organisations to bring about meaningful change.

Paul Goulter also acknowledged departing Health Minister Andrew Little.

“I would like to thank Mr Little for the work he did in the health arena and I wish him well with his new portfolios.”

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

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says it has supported the issuing of a provisional improvement notice (PIN) to Gisborne Hospital’s Ward Five in response to health and safety concerns arising from unsafe staffing levels.

A PIN legally requires an employer or service provider to address a health and safety issue before a certain time in this case within eight days) and is a powerful step employees can take through their health and safety representative (HSR).

The PIN was issued today (Tuesday 20 December) at 2.45pm by the HSR for the Ward because acute and persistent staff shortages have resulted in untenable workloads, staff stress, increased sick leave, burn out and resignations.

Ward Five staff voted overwhelmingly to support issuing the PIN as worker shortages were making it unsafe for both patients and staff.

The PIN recommended reducing the bed count in ward five from 25 beds to 20 to ease the pressure on staff.

NZNO Tairāwhiti delegate Christine Warrander said every time there was an acute staffing shortage, it meant a patient was at risk of not getting the correct care they needed.

"It also means workers are often forced to work well beyond the limit of their safe practice regularly and it remains deeply unsafe for everyone involved, unfortunately."

Warrander said safety concerns had been raised repeatedly with Te Whatu Ora Tairāwhiti over the past few months, but these had not been adequately addressed.

"Due to the acute staffing shortage, the employer has failed to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, a safe working environment leading to stress, fatigue and care rationing of patients.

"Despite repeated voiced concerns through the proper channels, they have not mitigated the risk present in Ward Five which is a breach of their primary duty of care."

She said that although some actions were agreed upon through a formal consultation process, workers have conveyed through survey responses that it has not been enough to mitigate or eliminate the acute staffing shortage.

"Ward Five is frequently below FTE which means staff shortages on shifts with high acuity patients. There is also inadequate Variance Response Management, which includes bringing nurses in temporarily from other areas, available."

Staff were absolutely exhausted, and the health system desperately needs to be recruiting more nurses, Warrander said.

"PINs like these highlights exactly why so many experienced nurses are moving overseas to safer environments, and we just don’t have the nurses to replace them."

Te Whatu Ora Tairāwhiti management has until 9 January to comply with the PIN’s recommendations.

For more information contact:

Samesh Mohanlall | Media and Communications Advisor, New Zealand Nurses Organisation

Email: samesh.mohanlall@nzno.org.nz, Mobile: +64 (0)21 240 3420

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 28 November 2022

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) has welcomed this morning’s Government announcement that $200m per year will be spent addressing the wage gap between community-based frontline workers and their counterparts who work for Te Whatu Ora. 

But it says the decision to leave out GP practices is regrettable.

NZNO Chief Executive Paul Goulter said the Government needs to be acknowledged for the initiative, which is particularly good news for workers with Māori and Pasifika health service providers whose wage gap has been crushingly unjust for so long. 

“Earning up to 25 percent less just because of where you work is completely unacceptable in Aotearoa New Zealand, so we're really pleased the Government has committed to ongoing funding for this.

“We also think the boost will have a really positive impact for the Aged Care Residential sector, which has been hit really hard by staff leaving for better paid jobs in the public sector.”

However, Paul Goulter said more work still needed to be done because nurses working for general practices have been excluded.

“The Government says it’s not convinced a pay parity gap exists for those nurses. We don't agree with that at all, and both our members and employers say they are losing staff at rate of knots to jobs with Te Whatu Ora where the pay is much better.

“And in a lot of cases general practice employers are topping up wages just to keep their staff, and that money has come out of funding for other services which could have benefitted patients and the community. 

“That’s not a sustainable situation long-term and the Government really needs to re-examine this decision. Otherwise Primary Health Care, and the communities that rely on it, will continue to suffer. It’s just not right that this sector will not participate.”

Paul Goulter also welcomed the Government’s assertion that the money must be used to fix existing pay differences.

“We’re really keen to see what mechanism will exist to ensure transparency and that the funding goes into the pockets of nurses and other health workers, rather than being absorbed into something else.”

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

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 15 November 2022

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says it is pleased with Health Minister Andrew Little’s recent announcement that paid placements for nursing students are under active consideration.

NZNO President Anne Daniels says nursing students must do 1100 hours of unpaid placement work during their studies (often at great distance from their homes) and that the hardship resulting from this is a major contributor to the high number of nursing students who drop out.

“We are in the middle of an horrific nursing shortage crisis, and it seems like a no-brainer that we must do everything possible to attract students into nursing and to keep them there.

“NZNO has been suggesting paid placements for some time and we’re frankly surprised it has taken so long even to be considered.”

However, Ms Daniels said this should be just one of several measures introduced to attract and retain nursing students.

“Places in Australia have already introduced free fees for nursing students right up to their third year because they recognise how important it is to build their health workforce right now. We must follow suit.

“In New Zealand we’ve done it for apprentices in response to trade worker shortages, so it’s just mystifying that we’re not considering free training for a profession that literally saves lives and provides care when we are seriously sick.”

She said the Government must move from consideration to action on both these issues quickly.

“We cannot afford to wait around, and we’d like an urgent timeframe announced to put these measures in place.

“New Zealand remains an unattractive option for migrant nurses, and we shouldn’t be relying on them anyway. We must be pulling out every stop in growing our own nursing workforce, especially Māori and Pasifika nurses, and that has to start right now.”

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

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 19 October 2022

Nurses at three private hospitals, owned by Evolution Healthcare Ltd in Wellington and Hawke’s Bay, will embark on a 24-hour strike on Thursday morning following a breakdown of talks with their employer.

More than 230 NZNO Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) members have been in protracted bargaining with Evolution Healthcare for the past 15 months culminating in urgent but failed mediation via the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on Wednesday.

“Our battle is over having decent wage increases and parity and conditions as nurses who work for Te Whatu Ora, and we are committed to achieving an increase that reflects what we are worth and mitigates the cost-of-living crisis all members face,” Wakefield Hospital nurse and NZNO delegate Lisa Blackmore said.

“Our demands include wages backpaid at the rate of inflation (7.3 percent); wages for 2022 onwards at Te Whatu Ora Pay Equity rates; and the same public holiday and sick leave entitlements as Te Whatu Ora employees.

“Evolution has offered well below this. They have resolutely refused to move and have not meaningfully engaged in mediation.”

The strike will take place from 7am on Thursday 20 October to 7am on Friday 21 October at the Wakefield and Bowen hospitals in Wellington, and Royston Hospital in Hawke’s Bay.

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

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 29 August 2022

Members of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) will be holding public rallies today in five main centres to call on the Government to ensure Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand (formerly the DHBs) urgently provides the funding needed to properly value Aotearoa’s Primary Health Care nurses.

The main centres are Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch and the rallies will run from 12.30 until 1.30pm.

Primary Health Care nurses work in areas of the health system such as General Practice, after-hours emergency centres, Plunket, Māori and iwi health providers, Urgent Care and Family Planning. They have the same qualifications, training and responsibilities as Te Whatu Ora nurses, but are paid significantly less.

A nurse at a medical centre typically earns 10-20 percent less, and nurses working for Māori and iwi providers can earn up to 25 percent less.

Many employers say they want to pay their staff the same rates as Te Whatu Ora nurses, but they can’t do so without increased capitation funding from the Government.

Christchurch-based Primary Health Care nurse Denise Moore says many nurses are leaving Primary Health Care for hospital-based jobs with Te Whatu Ora where they can earn more, and that this is causing real problems for members of the community.

“I don’t blame nurses for leaving Primary Health Care for better pay because it is hard to make ends meet on our wages, but it does make things worse for those who remain because staff numbers are so low and the hours are already long and arduous.

“When employers can’t find new nurses to replace the ones who have left, it means they have to cut services or delay appointments and that affects everyone in the community.”

Registered nurse Gina Chaffey works at a Māori Health provider in Tairawhiti. She says she would never leave her Primary Health Care role because it is about the people.

“He aha te mea nui o te ao? He Tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata. Meeting the needs of my people is always paramount and they depend on me. But why is the pay gap for nurses who work in Primary Health Care or for Iwi so big? The Government needs to step up and meet its obligations under te Tiriti.

“Injustice has been a lifetime battle for Māori and pay parity with Te Whatu Ora nurses would be a step towards equality. Like them we studied for our nursing degrees, and we go way beyond the call of duty every day. It just isn’t right that the Government funds one group of nurses more than another.”

At today’s rallies members of the public will be invited to rate the Government’s performance on fairly paying Primary Health Care nurses by placing a sticker on their chosen location on a large Plunket chart. They can also cast a ballot to vote on how well they think the Government is doing at valuing Primary Health Care Nurses.

The rallies will be at the following locations, starting at 12.30pm.

• Auckland: Corner of Memorial Drive and Gt North Road, New Lynn
• Tauranga: Red Square (bottom of Devonport Road)
• Hamilton: Garden Place, Victoria Street
• Wellington: Midland Park, Lambton Quay
• Christchurch: Riverside Market

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

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 29 July 2022

New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) delegates at Whangārei Hospital met with their employer today to demand better winter payment incentives. 

Within 18 hours, more than 80 percent of affected staff were willing to put their name and position forward in support of the letter of demand, which was presented to the employer at the meeting. 

NZNO delegate Rachel Thorn said nursing staff, including health care assistants (HCAs) and other health workers, are worn out from working extra shifts to fill a large number of gaps in the nursing roster. 

“This is having a hugely negative effect on our personal wellbeing and family lives, leading to increased sick leave, burnout and resignations. Despite this, we have been working extra hours to keep the department safe for patients and support our colleagues.

“This has been done out of loyalty to our manager and the department but the good will has run out.”

While nursing staff are being offered an incentive payment, the payment being paid to doctors is eight times higher depending on the timing of the extra shifts. 

“Nurses are feeling really disrespected. This unequitable offer has left us feeling a deep lack of care or consideration from Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand. The doctors we’ve spoken to agree and are shocked by the offer. Payments should increase by the same percentage for nursing staff who are just as vital for patient wellbeing,” Ms Thorn said. 

She said the employer met with doctors’ unions and negotiated much better winter support packages, including agreements to ensure the wellbeing of doctors working additional shifts, but did not negotiate with nurses or NZNO. 

“They just presented the amount to nursing staff without wellbeing support, without enough time to consider the payment and with no negotiation whatsoever. That just confirms to us that we are undervalued and many of us are refusing to take on the stress of extra shifts because it just isn’t worth the personal cost. 

“Unfortunately, our management have failed to deal with the staffing crisis and have effectively passed the burden onto the workers. We knew there was a crisis. We knew the winter surge was coming but it is clear that there was no planning, care or consideration for nurses, HCAs or other health care workers.  

“We expect our employer to step up and commit to resolving these issues, and one way to do that would be better winter incentive payments, as a short-term solution to these acute staff shortages. We should not be asked to sacrifice our families and our own wellbeing if we are not being valued at work.” 

NZNO says it plans to lodge a claim with Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand next week for significant improvement on the Winter Incentive payments (and for consistent penal rates) across the country for nursing staff. 

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

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 26 July 2022

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says nursing shortages have become so dire that Dunedin Hospital has called on nursing students to do tasks normally done by qualified nurses, placing the students at unacceptable risk. It wants to know what the Government’s plan is to keep nursing staff safe and to address the chronic shortage.

The students were asked to do patient-watch work, in exchange for a $200 Countdown voucher, because the hospital said it was ‘desperate’ for help as chronic understaffing was putting patient safety at significant risk. The students did not receive orientation training to the promised level, and one of the students was hit while working at the hospital.

NZNO student representative Manu Reiri said the students had little idea what the watch work involved, and most were unlikely to have been in a hospital ward before.

“They were supposed to be under the direction and delegation of registered nurses, which also placed employed staff at increased risk as they would be responsible for whatever mistakes were made under extremely busy and trying work conditions.

“A hospital resorting to this, against its own better judgement out of desperation, indicates just how critical the situation is.

“Dunedin Hospital is the employer responsible under the Health and Safety Act to anticipate and mitigate the risks arising from chronic staffing shortages, and the buck for that stops with the Government.

“We’ve been asking the Government what its plan is around safe staffing for more than a year, and there has been nothing of substance offered to date.”

Manu Reiri said the staffing crisis is worsening every day and that it was clear another approach is needed.

“We need to do things differently, and to manage that we need to be consulting and working together to ensure we are working on a plan to address understaffing in both the short- and long-term. This is what the Health and Safety Act requires and it is clearly not happening.

“Incidents like this are likely to happen again as desperation in the health system is everywhere. Dunedin Hospital did this under the radar and without working in accordance with the Health and Safety Act because it just didn’t see any other option, and that is deeply troubling.”

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

Embargoed until 12.30pm, 20 July 2022

New Zealand Nurses Organisation media release, 20 July 2022

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says it received more than 2700 responses (in just two days) after inviting members to send a message to the Minister of Health about the nursing/health crisis.

NZNO gave its members the opportunity in response to Health Minister Andrew Little’s persistent assertions that there is no health crisis and that the system as a whole is coping.

NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku said one only has to read the news to see that the system is actually on the brink of collapse, just as many health professionals are saying.

“Ninety-nine percent of responding members said the system was either in crisis (70 percent) or already beyond crisis (29 percent).

“What word we use to describe this situation is probably not important, but the Government’s insistence that this is just a temporary situation caused by covid and a cold winter has made nurses feel unheard and completely undervalued, and that is evident in the messages to the Minister. Many are furious, and many are in tears as they write.”

Some of the messages are lengthy, and NZNO President Anne Daniels said the fact that so many went to such lengths to share their thoughts is significant.

“Decades of poor planning, inadequate funding and outright neglect have led us to a time of absolute crisis in terms of pay, staffing resources and morale across the nursing sector.

“This isn’t a temporary glitch; many are seeing it as the end of the road, with 72 percent of respondents saying they are either seriously thinking of leaving nursing or New Zealand, or that they had already made plans to do so.

“This is not union officials opining in Wellington. These messages are the heartfelt pleas of nurses and other health workers right across the country working in a wide variety of nursing sectors. We hope for their sakes that the Health Minister and the Government will be willing to listen.” 

Interestingly, 95 percent of respondents (not all of whom work in the DHB sector) said honouring the promised back pay to DHB nurses and extending DHB Pay Equity rates to all nurses in New Zealand, regardless of where they practice, was one of the most important things Government could do to help address the nursing/health crisis.

The book of messages, amounting to 330 pages of print, will be anonymised and delivered to the Health Minister today at 12 Noon by a small team of Wellington region NZNO delegates.  Journalists would be welcome to photograph and speak with these members at Parliament at around 12.30pm.

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

Further information: survey stats

Regions

Nurses completing the survey were from all sectors: DHB; Primary Health Care; Aged Care; Private Hospital and Hospice; and Māori and iwi. Responses were received from all 20 DHB regions.

Is there a crisis?

2735 answered the question about whether there was a nursing crisis. No and Maybe were answer choices. 1910 (70 percent) said there was a crisis. A further 29 percent said the situation was already beyond crisis. 

How does the Government denial of a health crisis make you feel? 

Indifferent was an available choice. However, 39 percent said they were angry; 19 percent said they were disillusioned; 41 percent said they felt undervalued. Total = 99 percent.

Are you thinking of leaving nursing?

• Seriously thinking about leaving: 33 percent
• Seriously thinking about taking a nursing job overseas: 27 percent
• Already made plans to leave for good: 5 percent
• Already made plans to nurse overseas: 6 percent
• Determined to battle on: 28 percent. 

In other words, less than a third indicated they wanted to stay in their jobs.

What are the most important things Government could do to help address the nursing/health crisis?

• Honour the promised Pay Equity back pay for DHB nursing staff, and extend those Pay Equity rates to all nursing sectors: 96 percent.
• Provide more nurses: 80 percent
• Prioritise health and safety in workplaces: 70 percent
• Put internationally qualified nurses on the fast track to residency: 64 percent
• Remove financial barriers for nursing students: 60 percent
• Make it cheaper and easier for IQNs already here to gain registration: 53 percent
• Implement te Tiriti across the health system: 34 percent.