Health has become a pivotal issue in the Election countdown — with nurses literally offering a physical reminder of their concerns at Stuff‘s final leaders’ debate on Tuesday night.
National’s Christopher Luxon and Labour’s Chris Hipkins launched the debate explaining what they would do for health.
Hipkins said he’d met nurses gathered outside who were worried about the “deepening crisis” in the health system. “They simply can’t keep up. They want to know that help is on the way.”
Hipkins pointed to Labour’s promise of jobs for every nursing graduate, and its three free GP visits policy that would ease pressure on the likes of emergency departments with better primary care. He also promised to end the HNZ hiring freeze, something the current Government had put in place.
Luxon said his Government had put record amounts of funding into health care — and had recruited 2100 extra nurses.
Here, Hipkins jumped in: “There he is again, that’s simply not true. You’ve hired 54 more nurses.”
Luxon, in reply, doubled down on the 2100 number and even went further about the 54 increase: “Chris, you know it’s a lie.”
Kaitiaki has previously reported on a hiring freeze on nursing staff in Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ; meanwhile barely half of new nursing graduates were getting job offers on the ACE programme, and desperate letters declaring a state of emergency in emergency departments (EDs) were being fired to management.
Nurses and NZNO staff call for safe staffing outside Stuff HQ.
The Government has claimed it hired 2100 more HNZ nurses — but that included part-time roles and not staff attrition. Overall there was only a 54 fulltime equivalent (FTE) increase over the past two years.
Standing outside Stuff headquarters as part of that rowdy gathering of nurses and NZNO staff was Greenlane Clinical Centre registered nurse and NZNO delegate Jesse Paea.
Paea told Kaitiaki that it was important to let both main political parties know nurses’ stance on health. “That patient ratio matters, and that the current Government needs to be held accountable in regards to hiring 54 nurses, and the hiring freeze.”
‘There he is again, that’s simply not true. You’ve hired 54 more nurses.’
He confirmed Hipkins had stopped to have a chat with the nurses: “assuring us he was going to help us and support us”. It was a “respectful” move from the Opposition leader, Paea said.
Despite making a lot of noise, Paea said, the group had not attracted a similar quick visit from Luxon. “Unfortunately he didn’t and I found that disrespectful.”
By Wednesday morning current Health Minister Simeon Brown was facing questions over his boss’ accusation of dishonesty.
Brown himself admitted in Parliament in August there was only a 54 FTE rise in the HNZ nursing workforce from March 2024 to March this year.
Now, going head to head with Labour’s health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall in a testy RNZ health debate, he was asked about Luxon calling that number a lie.
Morning Report presenter Ingrid Hipkiss: “It’s not though is it? You said that.”
Brown did not directly answer her question, instead pointing to decreased doctor numbers in the last term.
Meanwhile Verrall said her party’s three-free primary care visit policy would meet increased demand through appointments with general practice doctors and nurse practitioners (NPs).
So, Brown said, Labour was advertising three free GP visits “and it might not be a GP”?
Verrall pointed out the meaning of GP: “In a general practice, staff include GPs and nurse practitioners, and that is a reality of health-care provision in large parts of New Zealand.”
Speaking to Kaitiaki after the health debate, Rotorua NP Jayme Kitiona said there were growing numbers of NPs in primary-health care — and people were starting to understand their mahi and scope of practice.
“I think it’s entirely up to patients and whānau if they choose to enrol or join their care with a NP, in a GP practice or NP -led care. We absolutely do provide the same scope of care.”
The NP-led clinic in Rotorua she launched with fellow NP Jacinda Childs in January, Tau Oranga Health Care, had grown from zero to more than 1200 enrolments since then.
Kitiona said she had been wondering how the free-appointment policy would be funded and how any extra funding would come through to clinics. “How are they going to fund that, where does it come from and what does it look like?”
She also wondered where the additional doctors and NPs would come from to provide more appointments.
Meanwhile, Kitiona backed NP’s place in primary-health care — something she was keen to share with Brown.
“Maybe Simeon Brown needs to have a consult with a nurse practitioner,” Kitiona said. “And then he’ll understand. People are not sure what a nurse practitioner can do until they have a consult with a NP and then they go ‘ok, yes I’d like you to be my primary health-care provider, yes I want to see you again, now I understand’.”
