News – Page 4 – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

May 2026

Decision time for members — new offer on the table from Te Whatu Ora

By Mary Longmore and Joel Maxwell

April 24, 2026

It’s decision time for the 36,000 NZNO Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ (HNZ) members as they consider new potential terms of settlement in bargaining.

May 2026

Community health nurses win six per cent pay rise after ‘humiliating’ bargaining

By Mary Longmore

April 22, 2026

Access community health nurses endure eye rolls and being told their concerns are ‘boring’.

May 2026

Free bowel cancer screening cut-off ‘racist’ say NZNO cancer nurses

By Mary Longmore and Joel Maxwell

April 16, 2026

NZNO cancer nurses condemn the Government refusal to lower the free bowel screening age to 50 for Māori.

May 2026

‘It’s not about the pay’ — Auckland district nurses go on strike

By Mary Longmore

April 8, 2026

More than 60 district nurses in Auckland are on strike today, saying they are fed up with empty promises and being ignored.

May 2026

Aotearoa’s 1000th nurse practitioner stoked to join ‘kick-ass’ circle

By Mary Longmore

April 6, 2026

Auckland sexual health nurse Rose Hutchinson says while it’s pretty random, she is “humbled and proud” to be Aotearoa’s 1000th mātanga tapuhi/nurse practitioner.

April 2026

New uniforms a ‘cost saving’, claims chief nurse after backlash

By Mary Longmore

April 4, 2026

Thousands of new uniforms being rolled out around the country for senior nurses, registered nurses and health-care assistants will save costs, claims Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand (HNZ) chief nurse Nadine Gray.

April 2026

Nurses forced to car-pool as fuel prices spiral, hammer HCAs

By Joel Maxwell and Mary Longmore

April 1, 2026

It’s their job to keep caring — but amid spiralling fuel prices nurses and kaiāwhina are pleading for support as they scrabble to get to work.

April 2026

‘He manawa ora’ mo te kawa whakaruruhau — engari ka rangona tonu te ngānehenehe

By Joel Maxwell and Mary Longmore

March 30, 2026

Kua whakahāngia e te Kaunihera Tapuhi o Aotearoa “te manawa ora” ki te kawa whakaruruhau nā tētahi whakahounga i tō takamua Te Tiriti me te hauora Māori i roto i tētahi pānui marohi tapuhi, kātahi anō i whakarewa.

April 2026

‘Breath of life’ for kawa whakaruruhau — but decades-old backlash still ACTs up

By Joel Maxwell and Mary Longmore

March 26, 2026

The New Zealand Nursing Council has “breathed life” into kawa whakaruruhau, launching a revamped guidance document that draws Te Tiriti and Māori health to the fore.

April 2026

NZNO apologises for involvement of nurses in abuse in state care

By Joel Maxwell

March 24, 2026

Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) has apologised for the involvement of nurses in abuse in state care.

NZNO apologises for involvement of nurses in abuse in state care

April 2026

‘They’re trying to gag us’ — pamphlets confiscated, as Waitematā district nurses go on strike

By Mary Longmore

March 20, 2026

One minute they were there — then they weren’t.

April 2026

Purple passion — a week of health-care workers showing their true colours

By Joel Maxwell

March 13, 2026

So much purple, so little time.

April 2026

‘We are not going to stop until we get it back’ — women, unions vow to fight for pay equity

By Mary Longmore

March 10, 2026

The message was short, sharp and defiant.

‘We are not going to stop until we get it back’ — women, unions vow to fight for pay equity

April 2026

Purple reigns — nurses show true colours for pay equity around motu

By Mary Longmore and Joel Maxwell

March 6, 2026

Puzzled passers-by were seeing purple, but some of the nurses were seeing red — it was International Women’s Day again, and pay equity was still on the agenda.

April 2026

Cut-down cupcakes, cute dinosaurs . . . nurses and kaiāwhina get creative for pay equity’s go purple day

By Mary Longmore

March 5, 2026

As nurses and kaiāwhina everywhere prepare to purple up for pay equity tomorrow in the run-up to International Women’s Day, we bring you some eye-grabbing inspiration from around the motu.

March 2026

Breast cancer bus hits the deep South to boost Māori, Pacific and rural screening rates

By Kaitiaki coeditors

February 27, 2026

Southland primary network WellSouth says “more work needs to be done” to tackle breast cancer inequities for Māori and Pacific communities in the deep South.

March 2026

‘Doing it tough’ — Far North iwi providers struggle in political current

By Mary Longmore

February 27, 2026

Iwi health providers showing up at Waitangi say Far North communities are struggling more than ever to access health care.

March 2026

‘Don’t be defeated, that’s what they want’: Government blasted at pay equity report launch

By Joel Maxwell

February 26, 2026

It’s easy to overlook personal distress when you’re talking about billions of dollars — but palliative care nurse Fiona McDougal simply felt gutted when she heard the news.

March 2026

‘We are scared for our residents and ourselves’: Nurses pivot to paper after system hack

By Joel Maxwell

February 25, 2026

Nurses are scrambling to rebuild medication charts on paper while others worry for patient safety after the MediMap hack.

March 2026

Business lobbyists, code names and Treaty breaches: People’s voice damning on pay equity

By Joel Maxwell

February 24, 2026

New light has been shed on the lengths the Government went to keep law changes gutting pay equity claims a secret — including an awkward meeting for the Health Minister.

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	Exasperated Muriwai Ward nurses strike again over unsafe staffing Nurses and health care assistants working on the Muriwai Ward at Waitākere Hospital will strike for the second time this year after last ditch efforts to resolve unsafe staffing concerns with Te Whatu Ora collapsed, NZNO says.
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.