Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand

Napier stands with Buller – kaumātua recall last closure

Communities in small towns and cities, where vital health services are being threatened, are getting behind the Buller Declaration to demand action from the Government.

NZNO Pacific nurse leader recognised after 40 years of nursing

NZNO Pacific nurse leader Abel Smith has been awarded life membership by the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA), for his work in Pacific nursing over 40 years.

‘Scary time’ for workers trying to improve Māori health

“It is a very scary time right now for nurses, whānau ora navigators and other kaimahi working to keep Māori communities alive longer,” says Tracey Morgan, chair of NZNO’s College of Primary Health Care Nurses.

Bowel cancer screening changes ‘dangerous for Māori’, say Māori health leaders

Changes to free bowel cancer screening age eligiblity will leave more Māori and Pacific people at risk of dying, say nursing and Māori health leaders.

‘They’ve got no heart for people’ — hīkoi planned over Bupa’s proposed cuts

After 23 years working at Bupa's Sunset facility, enrolled nurse (EN) Epenesa Mutimuti says she will walk away if a proposal to cut staff and hours goes ahead.

Extra 60 primary health NPs ‘nice’ but long-term pay boost needed, say nurses

NZNO's primary health care nurses are welcoming training places for an extra 60 nurse practitioners (NPs) in primary health each year -- but say only pay parity will stem the exodus of nurses from the sector.

Government committed to pay parity for primary health nurses, claims Simeon Brown

Minister of Health Simeon Brown says the Government is "absolutely committed" to pay parity for primary health-care nurses -- but it would take time.

87-year-old resident takes to Bupa picket line in South Auckland

A family of unionists hit the picket line recently to support striking staff at Bupa's South Auckland home in Wattle Downs -- led by their 87-year-old mum who lives there.

Emergency nurses call for urgent meeting with Simeon Brown over ED targets

Fed up with being blamed for missing shorter-stay targets, NZNO's emergency nurses have requested an urgent meeting with new Minister of Health Simeon Brown to ask for more support.

New nursing course: ancestor-inspired, inequities-driven

Aotearoa now has a new nursing degree. And its birth and inspiration have been drawn from the stories of health justice in the country’s most northern region and the realities there where tangata whenua face major health inequities.

Rotorua nurses raise violence, safety concerns with local MP

Nurses in Rotorua this month raised concerns about violence and aggression and unsafe staffing with their long-time local MP Todd McClay.

Te Whatu Ora scraps proposed nursing leadership cuts

A proposal to cut 18 directors of nursing (DON) roles down to 14 at Te Whatu Ora has been scrapped after "strong" opposition.

Another aged-care company plans major restructures

Unions have been notified that Bupa, one of the biggest aged care companies in New Zealand, will be restructuring 17 of its sites all at once.

Oceania Healthcare: Company books in good shape, but workers face more struggles

New Zealand's largest rest-home owner Oceania Healthcare boasts in its latest financial report upward arrows on all key economic outputs from total comprehensive income to operating cashflow to assets. Every output has a good story for its board of directors and shareholders. But...

I love my country, but it doesn’t want me

A young New Zealand nurse explains why she left for Australia -- her childhood dream of nursing had rapidly turned to burnout.

‘The past 14 years of my life’. Holiday pay battler reflects on her long fight

Health-care assistant (HCA) and NZNO delegate Cath Hellyer shares her relentless 14-year battle for correct holiday backpay which led to a $15.2 million payout for 4000 Hawke's Bay workers in November. But it's still not over.

‘The way illegal drugs are discussed can cause more harm than the drugs themselves’

A mental health nurse cautions against labelling all drug use as negative, and stigmatising people in the process.

Māori health professor with terminal bowel cancer on what screening changes really mean

Is it robbing Pita to save Paul? Redirecting bowel cancer screening cash will save more Pākehā lives, not more Māori lives, explains nurse and health professor Jacquie Kidd who got her terminal bowel cancer diagnosis before her own test kit arrived in the mail.

‘Distressed IQNs, a distressed domestic workforce, and distressed new graduates’ — a nursing pipeline and workforce in crisis

The Government spent more than $50 million on the recruitment and education of migrant nurses in the two years after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions ended, which has led to a serious imbalance in the nursing workforce.

Chief nurse opens up on the challenges of working at Te Whatu Ora

Despite grief at the "once in a generational opportunity" lost with the dissolution of Te Aka Whai Ora/Māori Health Authority, chief nurse Nadine Gray tells Kaitiaki she will not stop raising its Māori health kaupapa.

‘We are potentially watching our daughter die’ — Christchurch nurse aide’s plea for help

A Christchurch family say they have been unable to get the specialist inpatient care they desperately need after their adult anorexic daughter Emma Gallagher severely relapsed last year.

Former NZ mental health nurse finds peace working at holistic Swedish hospice

Former mental health nurse Annelie Gannaway explains why the hospice she works in is not a sad place.

Cathy Andrew — a passionate advocate for regional education

Helping establish graduate-entry and advanced nursing practice courses have been highlights of Cathy Andrew's role as executive dean of the University of Canterbury's faculty of health.

‘We can turn this around’: Nurses’ emotional plea for a safer health-care system

Nurses can be change agents for a better health system, say leaders at NZNO's 2025 college and section forum.

Speaking out ‘daunting but worth it’ — nurses share wins, hopes and challenges

More than 50 NZNO college and section members and staff gathered in Wellington earlier this month to share their mahi and figure out how to be the leading professional voice in their fields.

‘We do give really great care’ — emergency nurses bear the weight of systemic failings

NZNO's college of emergency nurses (CENNZ) talks short-stay targets, the need for 24/7 security and their desire to provide safe care.

MARCH 2025 crossword

Here’s a new crossword for March. You can fill it in online, or download a PDF if you want to print it out and fill it in by hand.

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New website discusses health needs of New Zealand and Pacific nations

Nursing has much to be proud of over the past 120 years. We can learn from how nurse leaders have managed situations in the past that are not dissimilar to challenges that we face today.