News – Page 11 – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

July 2025

Nominations open for Māori nursing awards

By Renee Kiriona

June 17, 2025

Nominations are open for the 2025 Te Pātaka Whaioranga (PHARMAC) Tapuhi Kaitiaki Awards.

June 2025

Back to the table — members call on Te Whatu Ora to make a better offer

By Mary Longmore

June 16, 2025

Thousands of nurses, midwives and kaiāwhina around the country have called on Te Whatu Ora to make them a better offer — or face strike action.

BUDGET26:Testing Budget heading

By Andrew Empson

June 13, 2025

Test

June 2025

Pay equity changes may discourage students from studying nursing, says Massey lecturer

By Jessie Davidson

June 12, 2025

Massey nursing students say they feel discouraged about entering Aotearoa’s health workforce following government changes to pay equity laws that have wiped out a claim for thousands of nurses.

June 2025

Nurse who became leader in health quality and safety honoured for King’s Birthday

By Kathy Stodart

June 10, 2025

Gillian Bohm, a nurse who has led nationwide improvement of health care quality and safety, has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the King’s Birthday list.

June 2025

Hariata Vercoe: Not a nurse but she’s got their backs

By Renee Kiriona

June 10, 2025

Hariata Vercoe is not a nurse but she has their backs. After 40 years of service to Māori, health and the community, the chief executive officer at Rotorua’s Korowai Aroha Health Centre, and member of the NZ Nursing Council, has joined the New Zealand Order of Merit.

June 2025

Te Whatu Ora members consider ‘hard-hitting’ strike action as mass union meetings begin

By Mary Longmore and Renee Kiriona

June 6, 2025

Extended 24-hour strike action could be on the cards next month, as nurses’ and other Te Whatu Ora health-care workers’ frustration spilled over at the start of nationwide union meetings this week.

June 2025

‘Have your say’ — NZNO backs people’s pay equity ‘select committee’

By Kaitiaki coeditors

June 6, 2025

NZNO members are being urged to submit their views to a new “people’s select committee” formed in protest at the Government’s sudden scrapping of 33 pay equity claims last month.

June 2025

Nearly 400 Auckland perioperative nurses strike over ‘forced overtime’

By Mary Longmore

June 3, 2025

Auckland perioperative nurses say forced overtime and sneaky ditching of callback payments has driven them to take strike action.

June 2025

‘We need you to stand with us’ — Te Whatu Ora bargaining team call on members

By Mary Longmore

May 28, 2025

It’s time to stand up, says NZNO’s Te Whatu Ora bargaining team after eight exhausting months of negotiation led to an offer they say fails to lock in safe staffing, graduate employment or match the cost of living.

June 2025

‘Rage, rage, rage’ drives mass turnout to Budget 2025 pay equity protest

By Kaitiaki coeditors

May 22, 2025

They came in their hundreds, wearing bright lipstick. They chanted. They sang. And hundreds of people loudly supported four alternative pledges ahead of the National-led Government’s Budget 2025.

May 2025

BUDGET 2025: Funding primary care nurses the answer to the health crisis

By Co-Editors, Kaitiaki

May 21, 2025

To fix chronic staff shortages stopping New Zealanders seeing their GPs when they’re sick, the coalition Government must use Budget 2025 to keep nurses in the sector by paying them the same as hospital nurses, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) says.

June 2025

Regulatory Standards Bill: ‘Nurses need to be worried’

By Renee Kiriona

May 21, 2025

Nurses need to be very worried about the Regulatory Standards Bill – the latest law the Government is proposing, according to a registered nurse who has been monitoring the development of bill.

June 2025

‘It’s up to you now’ — proposed new NZNO constitution goes to all-member vote

By Mary Longmore

May 21, 2025

‘It’s up to you now’ – that’s the message from NZNO constitutional review panel co-chair Grant Brookes, as all-member voting opens on a proposed new NZNO constitution.

June 2025

Bonding scheme is ‘plaster on a gunshot wound’, says nursing leader

By Renee Kiriona

May 16, 2025

The Government’s move on pay equity has swamped any benefit of the new bonding scheme for health-care workers, says a primary health care nursing leader.

June 2025

Struggling hospice nurses ‘shattered’ by pay equity changes

By Kaitiaki coeditors

May 16, 2025

On hospice awareness week, hospice nurses say they are demoralised and angry after the Government ditched their pay equity claim last week.

June 2025

‘It’s about respect’: Nurses protest at Parliament over pay equity claims

By Mary Longmore

May 15, 2025

Nurses were among many angry women workers who brought their mothers, children and wider whānau to Parliament today to protest the Government’s mass dumping of pay equity claims.

June 2025

2025 survey will capture students’ lived experience

By Kaitiaki coeditors

May 8, 2025

NZNO student leaders say the 2025 survey launched this week will capture the lived experiences of nursing students — including the financial challenges they are facing.

May 2025

Outrage, shock and fury as Government halts pay equity claims

By Mary Longmore

May 8, 2025

Low-paid women across health-care, education and many other sectors were devastated today, after Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke Van Velden announced the Government was halting all current pay equity claims — and making it harder to lodge new ones.

May 2025

‘It’s chaos’ — nurses, doctors brave weather bomb to strike, rally over ‘dangerous’ health system

By Kaitiaki coeditors

May 2, 2025

Despite an epic weather bomb dropping on ‘May Day’, May 1 saw large strikes and rallies throughout the country as nurses, doctors and other health workers joined in a desperate call for a safer health system.

23 Oct	National’s hiring freeze puts lives at risk Last night’s warnings from doctors at Wairau Hospital that patients may die if they don’t get more staff is yet another example of the damage National’s hiring freeze has done to our health system.
23 Oct	Recognition of need to fix primary care crisis good for patients Recognition of the need to fix the crisis in primary health care is good for patients but stops short of a much-needed overhaul of the sector, NZNO says.
20 Oct	Winners of the 2026 NZ Primary Healthcare Awards \| He Tohu Mauri Ora announced Over 600 supporters of primary care gathered at the Auckland's Viaduct Events Centre on Saturday night for a glittering gala dinner for the 2026 New Zealand Primary Healthcare Awards \| He Tohu Mauri Ora.
19 Oct	Te Whatu Ora must fully staff vital Starship Children's Hospital wards Te Whatu Ora must fully staff all wards at Starship Children's Hospital including four vital wards which are short of a total of 18 full-time nurses, NZNO says.
16 Oct	Paid placements policy will help boost nursing workforce A policy to pay nursing students a weekly allowance while they're on clinical placements will help them graduate and boost Aotearoa New Zealand's homegrown nursing workforce, NZNO says.
5 Oct	Labour's pay rise a first step, but pay equity needs a full settlement Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO has welcomed Labour's promised pay rise for care and support workers as a first step. It says care and support workers now need a full settlement of their pay equity claim and a workable pay equity system for all of its members.
1 Oct	Health NZ releases first national report on serious adverse events Health New Zealand has published its first national Serious Adverse Event Report, acknowledging the serious harm experienced by patients and whānau and outlining the improvements identified and actions underway to strengthen patient safety. The report covers serious adverse events reported in Hospital and Specialist Services between 1 July and 31 December 2025.
25 Sept	380 more health care workers at the end of winter too little too late An announcement of 380 additional nurses, midwives and health care assistants for hospitals around the country at the end of winter is too little too late, NZNO says.
23 Sept	Auckland University research finds nurse shortages increase post-surgery deaths and complications New research by Auckland University has found addressing nurse shortages in post-operative care may save 182 lives a year because short-staffed wards have higher rates of potentially preventable deaths and complications after their surgeries.
21 Sept	Whanganui Hospital ED averaged 680% capacity over a week Working in an overcrowded emergency department (ED), up to 680% capacity over a week, makes staff feel overwhelmed with the pressure, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO says.
14 Sept	WellSouth's Newborn Enrolment Kahu Taurima Programme a finalist at the Primary Care Awards 2026 WellSouth's Newborn Enrolment Kahu Taurima Programme is a finalist at the Primary Care Awards for the HALEO Best Supplier Service, Product or Campaign category. Winners will be announced on 17 October.
14 Sept	Global Study: Nursing Shortages Require Workforce Policy Solutions, Not Recruitment Campaigns Alone Why people choose nursing, and why they leave, comes down to the same factors. The global nursing shortage cannot be solved simply by encouraging more people to enter the profession, according to a new evidence brief.
8 Sept	Overworked, understaffed Gisborne ED staff strike Health and safety concerns arising from unsafe staffing levels have forced nurses at Gisborne Hospital’s emergency department (ED) to go on strike.
4 Sept	Strong growth in wāhine Māori and Pacific women’s cervical screening rates highlights success of self-testing programme Cervical screening participation has increased significantly for both wāhine Māori and Pacific women, reflecting the strong impact of self-testing, Screening Services and the dedicated efforts of health providers working alongside their communities.
4 Sept	Government must adopt Wai 2713 recommendations on disability system The Coalition Government must urgently adopt new recommendations from the Waitangi Tribunal which has found significant parts of the disability system prejudice tāngata whaikaha Māori (Māori with disabilities), NZNO says.
31 Aug	Employing graduate nurses will help keep them in nursing and the country A new proposal that will require Te Whatu Ora to offer all eligible graduate nurses jobs in the public health system will help keep them in nursing and in Aotearoa New Zealand, NZNO says.
26 Aug	Health Minister’s claim Winter Plan ‘managing well’ delusional Health Minister Simeon Brown’s claim that hospitals are ‘managing well’ because of the Government’s Winter Plan is delusional, NZNO says.
25 Aug	Hospital data shows nursing shortages continue to put patients at risk Te Whatu Ora data released today shows patients are continuing to be put at risk by the Coalition Government’s deliberate failure to safely staff hospital wards, NZNO says.
24 Aug	Fed-up North Shore ED staff declare state of emergency NZNO members working in the emergency department (ED) at North Shore Hospital have declared a state of emergency due to unsafe staffing levels resulting in ongoing overcrowding.
19 Aug	What happened to the winter health plan? The $25 million 2026 Winter Plan launched by Health Minister Simeon Brown in March to erase pressure on the health system has been an unmitigated disaster, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO says.
11 Aug	Applications open for advanced nursing education programmes Health New Zealand is encouraging registered nurses to apply for two advanced education programmes that support nurses to further develop their clinical skills and expand access to care in communities across New Zealand.
3 Aug	Health New Zealand welcomes settlement of NZRDA collective agreement Health New Zealand welcomes the vote by New Zealand Resident Doctors Association (NZRDA) members to settle their collective agreement.
30 Jul	Backing our frontline rural health workforce Rural communities across New Zealand will benefit from three new investments that will support the rural health workforce and help more people access care closer to home, Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey says.
22 Jul	Te Whatu Ora must disclose staffing levels at time of tragic death Te Whatu Ora must disclose whether the Waikato emergency department (ED) was short-staffed at the time a man tragically died in the waiting room, NZNO says.
6 Jul	Reflecting on IND 2026 Looking back on last month’s International Nurses Day 12 May 2026 (IND 2026), the impact of this year's theme "Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives" continues to resonate across the world. ICN’s landmark IND 2026 report defined seven key powers of nursing and this message has been strengthened with nurses in every region celebrating, naming, and owning their powers throughout May.
3 Jul	Health New Zealand acknowledges Ombudsman statement on Wakari Ward 10A Health NZ welcomes the independent investigation by the Ministry of Health into Ward 10A. On Wednesday the Health NZ board agreed to close Wakari Ward 10a as a forensic intellectual disability (ID) unit, with the future use of the ward yet to be determined.
2 Jul	New programme to fast track bowel cancer care and cut colonoscopy waitlists Health New Zealand is today launching a national initiative, designed to fast track bowel cancer care and reduce colonoscopy waitlists by up to 30 per cent.
1 Jul	Six new Co-Response Team locations announced to strengthen support for people in mental distress The next six locations for Health New Zealand and NZ Police Co-Response Teams have been confirmed, expanding a model that helps people experiencing mental distress receive timely, wraparound support that better meets their health needs.
29 Jun	Mental health and addiction targets progress continues Health New Zealand continues to make important progress against its mental health and addiction targets, meeting four out of five national targets this quarter.
25 Jun	Access to care continuing to improve across a range of health indicators New health data released today shows continued improvement in access to care across a range of health indicators.
18 Jun	Funding "boost" continues dangerous under-funding of aged care The Health Minister’s funding "boost" for aged residential care continues underfunding to the sector and will continue unsafe practices and short staffing, which is putting vulnerable residents at risk, NZNO says.
16 Jun	Labour to make maternity scans free Labour will add free maternity scans to the Medicard alongside three free doctor’s visits a year, so every pregnant woman gets the care she needs.