News – Page 4 – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

October 2025

Nurses share pain, hope with firefighters as they turn out across the country

By Mary Longmore and Renee Kiriona

October 17, 2025

“Here come the nurses!” were the words of delighted firefighters as hundreds of nurses and kaiāwhina turned out to join about 2000 union members on strike around the country Friday.

October 2025

‘That was a moral, emotional injury to the worker’ — tears and the truth at report launch

By Joel Maxwell

October 15, 2025

Everything we let happen to them now, will inevitably happen to us later.

October 2025

Cops already outstripping nurses as pay equity crumbles, committee hears

By Joel Maxwell

October 14, 2025

It was nice while it lasted — cops are already leaving nurses in the dust as pay equity collapses, the people’s select committee has heard.

October 2025

Our hidden shame — workers speak out on the shocking truth of caring for our elderly

By Mary Longmore

October 13, 2025

Missing showers, being left alone to soil themselves and getting late, cold meals — this is what kaumātua/residents in many aged-facilities endure today, say hundreds of nurses and kaiāwhina.

September 2025

Hidden nursing crisis revealed: The shocking staffing numbers, and the Minister’s response

By Joel Maxwell

October 8, 2025

Hidden Te Whatu Ora figures have revealed acute mental health wards in crisis: those most desperately in need of help, face shifts desperately in need of nurses.

October 2025

Corrections nurses, health-care assistants vote for October strike amid staff safety fears

By Joel Maxwell

October 7, 2025

Prison nurses and health-care assistants have voted to strike this month — frustrated at Corrections’ refusal to address safety concerns after months of bargaining.

October 2025

Official NZNO national committee for thousands of kaiāwhina launches

By Renee Kiriona

October 7, 2025

For the first time in its history, NZNO now has a national committee for kaiāwhina.

October 2025

‘It will be massive! ‘ Nurses, kaiāwhina vote to strike on October 23

By Mary Longmore

October 3, 2025

Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand nurses and kaiāwhina have voted for further strike action on October 23.

September 2025

Picketing nurses greet visiting Mental Health Minister at under-pressure rural hospital

By Renee Kiriona

October 1, 2025

Picketing nurses outside Thames Hospital greeted Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey on a flying visit to the under-pressure rural facility today.

September 2025

South Island’s community approach sees boost in cervical screening for Māori and Pacific

By Mary Longmore

September 26, 2025

Cervical screening rates for Otago and Southland’s Māori and Pacific communities have increased 10 per cent compared to last year, after primary health organisation WellSouth joined forces with community health providers.

September 2025

A few precious days leave, but she picketed instead: Nurses support striking doctors, dentists

By Joel Maxwell

September 25, 2025

Registered nurse Amy Tubman was on precious leave with her children during the school holidays, but she was still out on the picket line, flag in hand, supporting a strike: this time it was the doctors.

September 2025

Painting a thousand words: Images from Women’s Day of Action around Aotearoa

By Joel Maxwell

September 22, 2025

The Coalition Government got a little reminder on Saturday that women would like their $12.8 billion back.

September 2025

Mental health, Pacific, emergency nurses among those honoured in emotional NZNO awards

By Mary Longmore

September 19, 2025

Tears, passion and nurses’ deep commitment to their communities over decades — all were on display at a powerful NZNO awards ceremony in Pōneke this week.

September 2025

Health Minister Simeon Brown sees red, literally, as nurses turn their backs during NZNO AGM

By Joel Maxwell

September 17, 2025

Health Minister Simeon Brown was greeted with a wall of silence — and a wall of nurses’ backs — as he spoke to the NZNO annual general meeting on Wednesday.

September 2025

How many hundreds? Infometric report reveals shocking hospital shortages in every shift

By Joel Maxwell

September 17, 2025

The nation’s hospitals were collectively short 576 nurses every shift on average last year, a new Infometrics report has found.

September 2025

2025 election results sweep in a mix of current and new members for NZNO’s new national executive

By Mary Longmore

September 15, 2025

A mix of current members and new candidates have been elected/re-elected onto the new Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa – NZNO national executive.

September 2025

Nurses forced into silence and Māori patients left invisible — NZNO submits on Government’s health Bill

By Joel Maxwell

September 11, 2025

It’s not healthy, and it’s bad for the future — the NZNO has blasted a proposed health law for dismantling Māori gains and stealing nurses’ rights, in a select committee hearing.

Nurses forced into silence and Māori patients left invisible — NZNO submits on Government’s health Bill

September 2025

Bargaining restart gets real: The last-minute dash to negotiation team hui thanks to short-staffing

By Joel Maxwell

September 11, 2025

As NZNO collective bargaining restarts with Te Whatu Ora on Thursday, even planning was hampered by nurse short-staffing.

September 2025

‘It’s a beginning’, say emergency nurses after joining safe staffing kōrero

By Mary Longmore

September 9, 2025

As the shocking reality of hospital understaffing is finally revealed, NZNO’s ED nurses are finally being invited to join Te Whatu Ora’s safe staffing discussions after meeting with the Minister of Health.

September 2025

The marshmallows are back! Hospital staff celebrate after campaign to bring joy back to their hot choccies

By Mary Longmore

September 9, 2025

Marshmallows will shortly be back on the menu at a hospital near you, after workers campaigned to ‘free the marshmallow’.

Daily doses – uncut news

25 Mar	National Diabetes Roadmap launched to improve care, prevention, and quality of life Health New Zealand has launched a new National Diabetes Roadmap (‘the Roadmap’) to improve care, strengthen prevention, and support better health outcomes and quality of life for people living with diabetes.
24 Mar	ACT should leave nursing to professionals and medical evidence Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku says ACT MP Todd Stephenson has dismissed the Nursing Council’s draft code of conduct - which proposes strengthening cultural safety, whānau-centred care and te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations - as political ideology.
23 Mar	UK report reflects ICN warnings on international recruitment ripoff — now countries must act together The International Council of Nurses (ICN) warmly welcomes a new report from the UK All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Global Health and Security that recognizes the huge sums saved by high-income countries who recruit abroad and acknowledges the severe harms caused by unethical recruitment from fragile source countries left without nurses.
20 Mar	HPV self-test boosts cervical cancer screening ‘across the board’, new study confirms Making human papillomavirus (HPV) self-testing available to all women increases the number of people screened for cervical cancer, a new study led by researchers from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington has confirmed.
19 Mar	ICN at CSW70: Violence against nurses is a gendered crisis threatening global health The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has warned that violence against nurses is a global gendered crisis that threatens health systems, patient safety and workforce sustainability
17 Mar	Additional winter health care workers a drop in the ocean of need The Government’s announcement today of 378 extra staff to help hospitals cope with winter demand is a drop in the ocean of what patients need, NZNO says.
12 Mar	Funding change will ensure more consistent emergency care for New Zealanders A simple change in how ambulance medicines are funded is set to create more consistent emergency care.
9 Mar	Questions over dilapidated and cramped renal unit forced to ration dialysis The Health Minister must explain why after years of concerns from nurses about Christchurch Hospital’s barely functioning dialysis unit, he only stepped in late yesterday when life-saving treatment had to be rationed, NZNO says.
3 Mar	Hospitals and health workers should never be targets The right of health care workers to provide care during international conflicts must be protected, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO says.
2 Mar	Public and Mental Health Nurses settle collective agreement Health New Zealand welcomes the ratification of the two Public Service Association (PSA) Public and Mental Health Nurses collective employment agreements for Auckland and the Rest of New Zealand.
27 Feb	Whakatāne Hospital to resume secondary obstetrics and gynaecology services Whakatāne Hospital will resume secondary obstetrics and gynaecology services from 8am on 13 April 2026.
26 Feb	Counsellors warn NZ is normalising crisis levels of youth distress Youth mental distress has become entrenched, suicide remains a national tragedy, and our systems are failing to intervene early enough, says the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC).
26 Feb	Record uptake nearly doubles advanced nurse education scholarships A record 235 primary care registered nurses will begin advanced education this year – nearly doubling the number originally planned – following strong demand for the Government’s new Registered Nurse Primary Care Scholarships, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
19 Feb	‘Top Up’ to deliver faster access to support Seven grassroots mental health initiatives supporting small and hard-to-reach communities have received funding to deliver faster access to support, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey announced today.
18 Feb	Pharmac proposes funding new treatments that could transform early care for people with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, a type of blood cancer People in New Zealand living with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) could soon benefit from funded access to targeted treatments under a new proposal from Pharmac.
13 Feb	Te Whatu Ora’s embarrassing U-turn over proposed car park plan Te Whatu Ora needs to go back to the drawing board and prioritise worker safety after reversing plans to charge hospital workers market rates for car parks, NZNO says.
11 Feb	Stark differences in COVID-19 vaccination rates between Māori and non-Māori, research finds A new study analysing COVID-19 vaccine uptake has found markedly lower vaccination rates among Māori, which researchers link to existing inequities in healthcare access.
9 Feb	ICN’s call for International Nurses Day 2026: empower nurses to save lives ICN has announced the theme for International Nurses Day (IND) 2026: Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives. This focus sends a clear message that to maximize the full life-saving impact of the nursing workforce, we must empower nurses with safe, fair work environments and full nursing practice, influence, and leadership.
5 Feb	Global nurse leaders gather in Japan to address urgent workforce crisis Nursing leaders from Japan and around the world are gathering in Yokohama this week for two major nursing events that are advancing the global conversation on how countries can protect, retain and invest in their nursing workforce as pressures mount across health systems worldwide.
4 Feb	Midwives to deliver more vaccinations to help protect families Midwives are now able to offer a wider range of funded immunisations, supporting families from pregnancy through the early months of a child’s life, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
30 Jan	Opening of E Tū Wairua Hinengaro – Mason Clinic Health New Zealand has marked the opening of E Tū Wairua Hinengaro, a new purpose-built facility at Auckland’s Mason Clinic designed to strengthen and modernise forensic mental healthcare in Aotearoa.
29 Jan	NZNO disgusted by nurse’s killing in the US Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO has expressed disgust at the shooting and killing of nurse Alex Pretti on a Minneapolis, US street on Saturday morning by federal officers.
27 Jan	New national group forms to support public healthcare in Aotearoa Kaitiaki Hauora - Together for Public Health has been formed as a national group bringing together patients, health workers, iwi and Māori health representatives, unions, advocacy organisations, and community groups, with backing from a growing number of organisations across the health sector.
22 Jan	Pharmac proposes to fund life changing treatments for people with cystic fibrosis Pharmac is proposing to fund new treatment options for people living with cystic fibrosis with eligible mutations, including young children, from 1 April 2026.
05 Jan	Nurses pay tribute to Dame Poutasi The passing of Dame Karen Poutasi has seen Aotearoa lose one of its foremost health leaders and a woman of high integrity, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku says.
12 Dec	Holidays Act remediation payments update As of 12 December 2025, more than 83,000 current employees (representing nearly 93% of the current workforce) have been paid over $657m holidays act remediation payments for their current role.
8 Dec	Expanding access to everyday medicines Registered nurse prescribers can now prescribe nearly double the number of medicines, significantly expanding access to timely, local care for New Zealanders, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
1 Dec	Govt breaking promise to local communities Labour’s new Family Doctor Loan Scheme will support doctors and nurse practitioners with low-interest loans to set up new practices or buy into existing ones.