Te Whatu Ora – Page 2 – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

February 2026

From concept to screen: a step-wise approach to creating health education videos

By Tracy Klap, Jacqui Grannetia, Stephen James and Maureen Coombs

January 15, 2026

Health education videos are increasingly being used to provide information to patients and whānau as they navigate their way through health services.

January 2026

Visibility strikes: ‘Annoy the powers that be but keeps our message alive’

By Renee Kiriona

January 7, 2026

Outspoken NZNO delegate Al Dietschin is calling on all unionised hospital nurses and health workers to take part in visibility strikes, to keep the spotlight on safe staffing.

January 2026

He āputa ā-pūtea kua huraina — ko te take e hiahia nei te 80 ōrau o ēnei tapuhi kia wehe

By Joel Maxwell

December 10, 2025

Kua whāki atu ngā tapuhi hauora tuatahi mō ō rātou utu ā-hāora — kia tūhura ake pea i te take ka moemoeā te 80 ōrau o rātou mō ā rātou wehe i te rāngai.

January 2026

Cash gap revealed — why 80 per cent of these nurses think of escaping

By Joel Maxwell

December 10, 2025

Nurses in grassroots health care have dished on pay rates, workloads and just how many of them have considered leaving the sector.

December 2025

‘One of yours’: Rebuilding a safe and coherent mental health crisis system

By Stacey Wilson

December 9, 2025

Mental health crisis services in Aotearoa have endured a decade of increasing pressure, but the past year has pushed the workforce to a critical tipping point.

November 2025

Biggest nurse graduate intake ‘in a decade’, claims Te Whatu Ora

By Mary Longmore

November 28, 2025

After two years of struggle and a public outcry over jobless nurse graduates, Te Whatu Ora says it’s hiring the ‘biggest intake in a decade’.

November 2025

End-of-year graduate jitters on job-offer day

By Mary Longmore

November 28, 2025

More than 2000 end-of-year nursing graduates are enduring a nail-biting wait to hear whether they will land their dream job at Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand.

November 2025

‘Do it for the patients’: Nurse shares advice, encouragement ahead of partial strikes

By Joel Maxwell

November 5, 2025

It’s new, it’s different and it means facing new challenges — but do it for the patients, says a nurse with experience of groundbreaking partial strikes.

November 2025

‘Shoulder to shoulder’ — nurses prepare ahead of historic 100,000-strong day of actions

By Joel Maxwell

October 22, 2025

How do you prepare a rally speech for a day when nearly two per cent of the population of Aotearoa strikes?

November 2025

Canterbury strike action: 93 days of wearing their message on their sleeves

By Renee Kiriona

October 20, 2025

Thousands of nurses, midwives and health-care workers have begun 93 days of partial strike action at the South Island’s largest hospital.

October 2025

Mythbusting: NZNO expert tackles Te Whatu Ora’s safe staffing denials

By Mary Longmore

October 10, 2025

Even after Te Whatu Ora was forced to reveal how dangerously understaffed New Zealand’s hospitals are, its leaders seem to still be in denial, NZNO’s safe staffing expert says.

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

Ko Rebecca Fenn: Mai i Rānana ki tāna taraiwa i te pahi me te āwhina ki a rātou “kei raro e putu ana”

By Renee Kiriona

October 6, 2025

Kua whakawhiwhia Rebecca Fenn te tohu Mātanga Tapuhi o te Tau, nā tōna tamaititanga i waenganui i te “rongo ki ngā hōhipera” me “te tākaro hei nēhi” i whakaohooho i a ia kia atawhai i te iwi.

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.

October 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

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

Strike Day 1: Action might be nationwide, but Te Whatu Ora nurses’ motivations are very personal

By Joel Maxwell

September 3, 2025

The strike was nationwide, covering tens of thousands, but the reasons for nursing were simple, personal — and always about the patient.

September 2025

Hutt nurses opt to ‘bleed and feed’ in strike next week

By Renee Kiriona

August 28, 2025

Hundreds of Te Whatu Ora nurses in the Hutt Valley are planning to give away their blood and food during their two days of strikes.

September 2025

‘I support them as they have supported us’ — nurses lend a hand to striking teachers

By Mary Longmore and Joel Maxwell

August 21, 2025

NZNO nurses and kaiāwhina might be a little busy with their own strike action — but it didn’t stop a few turning out to support our kaiako (teachers) strike around the country this week.

September 2025

For goodness sake don’t mention the t-shirts: Nurses on strike forbidden to speak about item of clothing

By Joel Maxwell

August 19, 2025

They could wear the t-shirts — they just couldn’t talk about the t-shirts.

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.