As strike action begins Wednesday for Te Whatu Ora members, their primary health-care counterparts have shared words of encouragement, solidarity — and a little bit of spiciness — with Kaitiaki.
I mua i te tīmatanga o te porotū i te Wenerei mā ngā mema Te Whatu Ora, ka tohatoha ō rātou hoa mahi i te rāngai hauora mātāmua ētahi kupu tautoko, hei akiaki, hei whakakotahi — hei kai pūhahana noki — ki a Kaitiaki.
Evans-Warmenhoven pointed out that every nurse took an oath to do no harm, but understaffing was making upholding this tough.
Ka kīia e Evans-Warmenhoven ka kī taurangi ia tapuhi, ia tapuhi kia kaua e whakawhara i te tangata, engari me oke ururoa rātou kia whai tonu i tēnei oati.
“We are only human. You cannot run us like machines, doing back-to-back shifts, missing precious whānau time, hitting rock bottom with burn out – all while trying to simultaneously deliver a high-quality standard of care.”
“He tāngata noa iho mātou. Kaua rawa koe e whakahaere mātou hei karehiko, e tohe ana kia tutuki i te nui o ngā mahinga, ā, ka mahue i a mātou te nohotahi me te whānau, ā, kei raro e putu ana mātou nā runga i te ruha — i te wā tahi ka okea kia tuku i te kounga o ngā ratonga atawhai.
Evans-Warmenhoven said she’d heard horror stories about what was happening inside some hospitals because of inadequate staffing and workplace stress.
Hei tā Evans-Warmenhoven, kua rangona e ia ngā pakiwaitara whakaohorere mō ngā āhuatanga i roto i ētahi o ngā hōhipera, nā runga i te kōpaka i ngā kaimahi me te pōkaikaha o ngā tāngata i te wāhi mahi.
“Patients being left in pain for hours, patients not having proper care plans resulting in patient and whanau aggression and basic health rights not being met.”
“Kua waiho ngā tūroro i raro i te mamae mō ngā hāora maha, kāhore i tukuna ngā mahere atawhai ki a rātou me te aha ka riri ngā tūroro me ō rātou whānau, ā, kāhore i tutuki ngā mōtika māori.”
She had been nursing for a decade but had never been so worried for the health system.
E 10 tau a ia e nēhi ana engari ināianei e waipuketia ana tōna āwangawanga mō te punaha hauora.
“I support the strike that they are doing, not only for fair pay to reflect the tiring work these people do, but more importantly for safe staffing.”
“Kei te tautoko ahau i tā rātou porotū, kāhore anake mō te utu tika hei mahi houhare, engari pū mō te whakawhiwhi mahi haumaru noki.”
At a glance
- On July 30-31, 36,000 Te Whatu Ora nurses, health-care assistants and midwives will strike for safe staffing and patient safety for 24 hours.
- Pickets, marches and other events will run around the country as health-care staff walk off the floor at 9am in Aotearoa’s hospitals.
- Members voted to strike following a Te Whatu Ora offer that was considered worse than its previously-rejected May offer.
- It comes as new nursing graduates, and 2024 graduates, face a job shortage in Te Whatu Ora — only 45 per cent matched with work in the mid-year Advanced Choice of Employment (ACE) programme.
Hei titiro
- I te Hūrae 30-31, ka porotū ngā nēhi, kaiāwhina me ngā tapuhi whakawhānau e 36,000 mō te whakawhiwhi mahi haumaru me te hauora o ngā tūroro, mō ngā hāora e 24.
- Ka tū mai ngā porotū, ngā hīkoi me ētahi atu momo taiopenga puta noa i te whenua i muri i tā ngā kaimahi hauora wehe i ngā hōhipera o Aotearoa i te 9am.
- Kua pōtihia e ngā mema kia porotū nō muri i tētahi tono a Te Whatu Ora kua whakaarohia he kino ake i tā rātou tono i te Mei e parahako kē ana.
- Ka porotū ngā mema i te wā tahi kua pā mai te kōpaka i ngā tūranga HNZ mō ngā kiriwhakapōtae hou, me ngā kiriwhakapōtae 2024 noki — ko te 45 paehēneti noa iho kua tūpono ki tētahi tūranga i te kaupapa ACE, tau-waenga.
Meanwhile, RN Sajitha Ferry said standing together as a single health sector was vital for getting results.
Heoi anō, hei tā te RN a Sajitha Ferry, e matea ana te tū kotahi kia whakakotahi i te rāngai hauora hei whaihua mō te katoa.
Working in the disability sector she understood first-hand about the challenges of chronic understaffing, unsafe workloads and burnout, she said.
Nā runga i tāna mahi i te rāngai whaikaha i mōhio pū a ia ki ngā wero nui o te kōpaka i ngā tūranga mahi, te taumahatanga o te mahi nui me te pōkaikahatanga, hei tāna.
“These issues impact not only health workers but the safety and dignity of those we care for every day.”
“Ka tāmi mai ēnei take i te hauora o ngā kaimahi hauora, ā, me te noho haumaru, te amaru hoki o ngā tūroro e atawhaingia ana rangi atu, rangi mai.”
Ferry said the collective courage of striking nurses, health-care assistants and midwives was inspiring — and necessary for the future of nursing and patient wellbeing.
Hei tā Ferry he whakaohoohotanga tō te māia a ngā tapuhi, kaiāwhina me ngā tapuhi whakawhānau e porotū nei — e matea ana hoki tēnei mō te wā heke o ngā nēhi me te hauora o ngā tūroro.
‘He tāngata noa iho mātou. Kaua rawa koe e whakahaere mātou hei karehiko’
“Kia kaha, and thank you for leading this important stand for change. I am with you.”
“Kia kaha, ngā mihi nunui hoki ki a koutou mō tā koutou arahi hei huri i tēnei ao. Kei tō koutou taha ahau hoki.”
There were shorter but succinct messages of support from the likes of primary health practice nurse Pip Carter, who said strikers should “go hard” for the cause.
Poto pea ngā kupu, engari nui ngā kōrero a ētahi atu, pēnei ki te rite o te tapuhi hauora mātāmua a Pip Carter nāna i akiaki i ngā nēhi “kia tū maia” mō te kaupapa.
“We totally tautoko those in Te Whatu Ora taking strike action. Arohanui to you all.”
“E tautoko mārika ana mātou i a rātou i Te Whatu Ora e porotū nei. Arohanui ki a koutou katoa.”
Aged care national delegate Brianna Dynes thanked the striking members for standing up for making Aotearoa better for its aging community.
Kua mihia e te māngai ā-motu mō ngā take pēperekōu a Brianna Dynes ngā mema e porotū ana mō tā rātou tū e pai ake ai Aotearoa mō tāna hapori pēperekōu.
“Let’s make some changes for the better.”
“Kia huri tātou i tō tātou ao, e pai ake ai.”
What’s happening in the main centres?
- Auckland: Wednesday, 11am, gather for march from Te Komititanga (harbour end of Queen St) to Aotea Square.
- North Shore hospital: Wednesday, 9am, join the picket outside the hospital on Shakespeare Rd.
- Waitākere hospital: Wednesday, 9am, join the picket outside the hospital on Lincoln Rd.
- Middlemore: Wednesday, 5pm, gather outside Middlemore hospital with battery-powered candles, glow-sticks, torches for show of solidarity.
- Hamilton: Wednesday, 9am meet outside Waikato ED to picket and march to Hamilton lake, then back to picket till 2pm.
- Wellington: Wednesday, 9am, walk off floor from Hutt and Wellington hospitals, meet at Wellington train station at 9.45am for march to Te Whatu Ora HQ on Molesworth St.
- Christchurch: Wednesday, 9am, picket hospital if dry, and Te Whatu Ora corporate if wet till other campuses arrive, then march to the Bridge of Remembrance.
- Dunedin: Wednesday, 9am, march from Dunedin hospital to museum for picket and community event.
Click here for all the events on Wednesday and Thursday.