News – Page 8 – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

May 2023

Incentive payments and wellbeing snub ignites fury for Te Whatu Ora nurses

By Cate Macintosh

April 21, 2023

With winter looming and staffing shortages already critical, Te Whatu Ora nurses are furious their employer has turned down incentive payments and wellbeing measures for those who answer the call to do extra shifts.

May 2023

Aged-care nurse makes heartfelt plea at Day of Action

By Cate Macintosh

April 18, 2023

On Saturday, over 2000 nurses and health care assistants around the country hit the streets to demand action on the health staffing crisis. For many, it was also a chance to seek solace with their fellow exhausted colleagues while facing another winter of chronic short-staffing.

May 2023

‘We’ve gone past the word tired, we are now drained’

By co-editors Cate Macintosh and Mary Longmore

April 17, 2023

Over 2000 nurses and supporters turned out at rallies around the country in a national day of action on Saturday.

May 2023

50 years nursing, going strong — and taking action to protect the profession she loves

By Cate Macintosh

April 14, 2023

A nearly 50-year career in nursing had a shaky start – fainting at the sight of a naked elderly patient – but Viv Draper says she has no regrets and will struggle to leave her job at Christchurch’s spinal unit when the time comes.

May 2023

‘This is for us and for our future’ — caregivers join nurses for day of action this Saturday

By Mary Longmore

April 12, 2023

‘Exhausted’ health-care assistants (HCAs) are rallying alongside nurses for safer staffing and better pay and conditions at this Saturday’s NZNO day of action around Aotearoa.

April 2023

Values mismatch leads to drop in compassion — study

By Cate Macintosh

April 12, 2023

As New Zealand faces another winter of critical health care staff shortages, a new study shows patients and staff are likely to suffer when efficiency is prioritised over compassion by service providers.

May 2023

‘Disingenuous’ – Kiwi nurses challenge claim pay rates now on par with Australia

By Cate Macintosh

April 3, 2023

The Government says a recent pay increase for Te Whatu Ora nurses puts their base rates ‘on par’ with Australian colleagues. But Kiwi nurses in Australia and a leading economist disagree, saying the claim doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.

April 2023

Pay boost ‘huge’ for community nurses

By Mary Longmore

March 31, 2023

A 10 to 15 per cent pay boost for community nurses will make a ‘huge’ difference to keeping nurses and kaiāwhina in settings such as aged care, hospices and Māori and Pasifika health.

April 2023

New Zealand needs 450 more ICU nurses, say critical care nursing leaders

By Mary Longmore

March 30, 2023

Another 450 full-time critical care nurses are needed to safely staff the country’s growing number of intensive care (ICU) beds, says NZNO’s college of critical care nurses.

April 2023

‘Come and stand in solidarity’ — nurses everywhere prepare to rise up on April 15

By Mary Longmore

March 27, 2023

‘We need to stand united, because we’re all nurses, we’re all in this together’. Nurses and health workers prepare to rise up — Maranga Mai! — for a national day of action.

April 2023

Ex-minister gets schooled in primary health care as nurses get political

By Cate Macintosh

March 22, 2023

While full-time lobbyists are paid big bucks to door-knock politicians, primary health care nurses are taking time out of their work days caring for patients to do the same. Kaitiaki tagged along for one such visit – to former minister, National list MP Gerry Brownlee.

March 2023

Nurses turn out to support teachers’ strike action

By Cate Macintosh

March 16, 2023

Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO members and staff turned out at rallies across the country in support of a nationwide teachers’ strike on Thursday.

April 2023

Nurse practitioners reject ‘denigrating’ GP college guidelines, will draw up their own

By Mary Longmore

March 14, 2023

Mātanga tapuhi / nurse practitioners say revised guidelines on their role from the Royal College of GPs (RNZCGP) are “denigrating” and “disappointing”, implying they must consult with GPs before making decisions.

April 2023

Thanks, but where’s the rest? Nurses challenge Minister of Health on back pay

By Mary Longmore

March 8, 2023

Pay equity salary increases of up to $12,000 per annum are “appreciated”, but Wellington nurses today told Minister of Health Ayesha Verrall they want to be back-paid to 2019 “like we were promised”.

April 2023

‘Immediate’ pay boost needed for struggling senior nurses, say nurse leaders

By Mary Longmore

March 7, 2023

Senior nurses and leaders are pleading for more support over low morale and burnout as the pay gap with registered nurses (RNs) narrows.

March 2023

‘I’m quite resilient – I guess [it’s] years of being a nurse’

By Cate Macintosh

March 6, 2023

She survived a deadly attack and, most recently, a cyclone that destroyed her home. But mental health nurse Ra Kupa is determined to rebuild and get back to work — and can still make strangers laugh.

March 2023

Emotional exhaustion hits nurses, two weeks after Cyclone Gabrielle

By Cate Macintosh

March 3, 2023

Nurses in regions devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle are in a state of shock, coping with post-event trauma while continuing to work and support each other.

March 2023

Napier campus likely to be closed for three months

By Cate Macintosh

February 27, 2023

Hawke’s Bay nursing school staff are juggling clean up operations at home and at work in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle’s devastation, with their Napier campus likely to be closed for three months.

March 2023

Nursing studies on hold as 90 per cent of Napier campus damaged in cyclone

By Cate Macintosh

February 24, 2023

Nursing students at Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) say their programme is in limbo after the flood-damaged Hawke’s Bay campus in Napier closed last week.

March 2023

Nurse returns to work, days after losing everything in cyclone

By Cate Macintosh

February 23, 2023

A Hawke’s Bay nurse who had to swim to safety from her flooded home and lost everything she owns in Cyclone Gabrielle was back on duty at Hawke’s Bay Hospital four days later.

22 Nov	Whooping Cough epidemic declared across Aotearoa New Zealand Health agencies have confirmed today that Aotearoa New Zealand is now in the early stages of a Whooping Cough epidemic, with a nationally coordinated response now in place.
20 Nov	A Global Map of Winter Depression Healthnews has released an extensive study that ranks 194 countries based on their winter-pattern Seasonal Depression Disorder (SAD) risk.
18 Nov	Potential travel disruption expected with Tuesday’s national Hīkoi Health New Zealand \| Te Whatu Ora urges those with an appointment scheduled at Wellington Regional Hospital on Tuesday morning or early afternoon, to please allow extra time to get to appointments.
15 Nov	ICN’s calls on G20 leaders to address international health worker migration crisis Ahead of the G20 Leaders Summit in Rio de Janeiro next week, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) welcomes the Declarations recently adopted by the G20 Health Working Group and health ministers.
13 Nov	Measles case confirmed in Tāmaki Makaurau Health New Zealand \| Te Whatu Ora has confirmed today that a new case of measles has been identified on Waiheke Island in Auckland. The case and their household are being supported by the National Public Health Service (NPHS), with those most at risk now in quarantine to help reduce the chance of further spread.
5 Nov	Safety fears ahead of changes to mental health 111 calls Mental Health Nurses have serious concerns about the safety of their patients, the public, their colleagues and themselves when police changes to emergency 111 calls come into effect on Monday, New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa says.
31 Oct	General practices welcome fast-track approvals process A new fast-track approval process is a good start, but more is needed to fix New Zealand’s chronic GP shortage, says the General Practice Owners Association (GenPro)
24 Oct	International Council of Nurses Bucharest Declaration priorities for the future of nursing The International Council of Nurses (ICN) marked the 125 years since its founding in 1899 with an anniversary conference held in Bucharest, Romania and hosted by the Order of Nurses, Midwives, and Medical Assistants of Romania.
10 Oct	Call to immunise now as New Zealand at high risk of whooping cough outbreak Pregnant people, babies, children and others at high risk from whooping cough are urged to get vaccinated as soon as possible, as Aotearoa New Zealand stands at high risk of an outbreak.
9 Oct	New pilot with Plunket to deliver childhood immunisations To increase access and boost immunisation rates, Health New Zealand \| Te Whatu Ora and Whānau Āwhina Plunket will pilot the delivery of childhood immunisations at a select number of sites across the country.
8 Oct	Health NZ Begins Development of National Perinatal Bereavement Care Pathway As Baby Loss Awareness Week shines a light on the heartbreak faced by many, Health NZ is taking a compassionate and hopeful step forward in transforming the support available for whānau who experience the loss of a baby.
7 Oct	Govt takes the scalpel to regional health budgets At Labour’s insistence, Te Whatu Ora financial documents have been released by the Health Select Committee today showing more cuts are on the way for our health system.
2 Oct	Orion Health and Streamliners form strategic partnership Orion Health, a global leader in digital health solutions, has announced a strategic partnership with Streamliners, creators of HealthPathways which provides an online manual used to assist with clinical assessments.
1 Oct	Rollout of new medicines across New Zealand begins Today marks the first day a range of new medicines, including cancer medicines, will start to become available in hospitals and health centres across the country.
27 Sept	New Dunedin hospital: Southerners deserve better The Government’s announcement today that it will scale back the new Dunedin hospital will negatively impact patient care, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki O Aotearoa says.
26 Sept	Govt not addressing health workforce crisis The National Government is hiding the gaps in the health workforce from New Zealanders, by not producing a full workforce plan nearly a year into their tenure.
25 Sept	New programme offers step up for jobseekers seeking a career in health and wellbeing Local jobseekers have an exciting new opportunity to begin a career in Health following the launch of a new community-based kaiāwhina programme in the Hutt Valley.
23 Sept	Ministers oblivious to cuts’ effect on families The National Government is oblivious to the impact cuts to services will have on New Zealanders who are doing the hard yards caring for mentally ill family members.
19 Sept	Wānaka community to benefit from new overnight health service Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says an Overnight Acute Care Service opening in October will provide people in Wānaka and the surrounding area with the assurance of quality overnight care closer to home.
17 Sept	Dr Le Heron takes title of 2024 Alzheimers NZ Fellow Distinguished neurologist and cognitive neuroscientist, Dr Campbell Le Heron, has been made the 2024 Alzheimers NZ Fellow for his work researching and managing cognitive disorders.
11 Sept	Aged care will be worse off if redesign rushed New Zealanders needing aged care support and the people who care for them will be worse off if the Government pushes through a flawed and rushed redesign of dementia and aged care.
11 Sept	Govt takes action on mpox response, widens access to vaccine The Government is taking immediate action on a number of steps around New Zealand’s response to mpox, including improving access to vaccine availability so people who need it can do so more easily, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today.
10 Sept	ICN launches new position statement and discussion paper setting out a revolution in the delivery of Primary Health Care The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is launching its new position statement and a discussion paper on Primary Health Care (PHC) at its Nurse Practitioner/Advanced Practice Nursing Network (NP/APN Network) Conference in Aberdeen, Scotland.
9 Sept	First cancer medicine decision following Pharmac funding boost Pharmac has decided to widen access to two medicines for several types of cancer. Pembrolizumab (branded as Keytruda) will be funded from 1 October 2024 for eligible people with advanced triple-negative breast cancer, head and neck cancer, colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, and Hodgkin lymphoma. Nivolumab (branded as Opdivo) will be funded from 1 November for eligible people with kidney cancer.
6 Sept	Health agencies working with Police on rebalancing roles for mental health responses Health New Zealand \| Te Whatu Ora and the Ministry of Health - Manatū Hauora are working with Police to change some of the ways agencies respond to mental health. The change will see an increased health-led response, supporting Police to focus on core Policing.
4 Sept	Nurses’ bargaining starts with action for safe staffing Nurses are kicking off their collective bargaining with Te Whatu Ora by taking action for safe staffing on Friday, New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says.