Articles – Page 24 – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

October 2024

Popular cervical self-test should be free for all, say women’s health nurses

By Mary Longmore

October 11, 2024

NZNO’s women’s health nurses say a popular new cervical screening self-test should be free for all.

November 2024

Primary health nurses ‘hōhā’ with three per cent offer

By Renee Kiriona

October 9, 2024

In te reo Māori, the word hōhā packs a lot of punch! It can mean many things but in this case it simply means ‘fed up!’ And it is the single word Tracey Morgan, spokesperson for the NZNO-Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa primary health-care bargaining team, is using to describe the latest negotiations with employers of about 3500 nurses throughout Aotearoa.

June 2024

‘People aren’t on a spreadsheet’ — nurses share pain over latest cut-backs with health leaders

By Mary Longmore

May 30, 2024

A nurse who has quit and another who “literally ran” her entire shift were among those who spoke to Te Whatu Ora leaders face-to-face about latest cost-cutting — one breaking down in tears as she spoke.

October 2024

‘They need to make good! ‘ Nurses deliver $2.1b bill to Margie Apa

By Mary Longmore

October 9, 2024

Hospital nurses delivered a whopping $2.1 billion bill to Te Whatu Ora chief executive Margie Apa in Wellington today for years of incorrect holiday entitlements.

October 2024

‘This is just the beginning’ — southerners rise up against health cuts and hospital ‘betrayal’

By Mary Longmore and Renee Kiriona

October 1, 2024

Thousands of staunch southerners turned out in Ōtepoti (Dunedin) and on the West Coast over the weekend to protest Government health and hospital cut backs — and say they won’t be backing down.

October 2024

Pacific peoples warned grass isn’t always healthier in NZ

By Renee Kiriona

September 26, 2024

The first Pasifika nurse to gain a doctorate is warning her kin to think long and hard before making the move to New Zealand.

October 2024

New student leaders inspired by nurses while growing up

By Mary Longmore

September 25, 2024

At a tough time for nursing graduates, NZNO’s new student leaders share their passion for nursing and what drives them.

September 2024

Te Whatu Ora bargaining for 35,000 nurses enters day one

By Renee Kiriona

September 25, 2024

New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki O Aotearoa entered day one of collective contract negotiations with Te Whatu Ora this morning.

October 2024

Call for nurses and kaiāwhina to stand against radical policies with ‘elegant militancy’

By Mary Longmore

September 24, 2024

Nurses and kaiāwhina are being asked to stand up for Māori and the country’s vulnerable.

September 2023

Nurses turn out for striking senior doctors

By Mary Longmore

September 6, 2023

‘Here come the nurses!’ was the appreciative cry from senior doctors striking outside Wellington Hospital yesterday as Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa — NZNO members spilled off the Newtown bus and took their place on the picket line beside their colleagues.

September 2023

‘Disappointed’ primary health nurses pin hopes on pay equity claim

By Mary Longmore

August 31, 2023

NZNO is preparing to “urgently” lodge a pay equity claim for primary health care (PHC) members, who narrowly voted to accept a pay deal after two years of bargaining and a strike.

October 2024

‘Where is this abundance of nurses?’ Nurses’ wero to Minister of Health at NZNO conference

By Mary Longmore

September 18, 2024

Run-ragged nurses from around the country “locked eyes” with each other and raised eyebrows after Minister of Health Shane Reti talked about the record numbers of nurses hired into the workforce as he opened their conference.

September 2024

Show of solidarity before bargaining begins

By Renee Kiriona

September 24, 2024

Bargaining begins tomorrow on NZNO’s biggest collective agreement between more than 30,000 nurses and Te Whatu Ora.

September 2023

Matariki brings a new name for college of child and youth nurses

By Mary Longmore

August 25, 2023

Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa — NZNO’s college of child and youth nurses (CCYN) has been gifted a new name to reflect its commitment to equitable health outcomes for tamariki in Aotearoa.

May 2025

‘Show some respect to nurses’ — Steve Chadwick on halting of pay equity claims

By Steve Chadwick

May 13, 2025

Primary and Community Health Association (PCHA) chair Steve Chadwick says New Zealand’s struggling health system and nursing workforce have been dealt another significant blow by the mass dumping of 33 pay equity claims this month.

October 2024

Getting New Zealand-trained nursing graduates in work ‘a very high priority’ — Minister of Health

By Mary Longmore

September 17, 2024

Minister of Health Shane Reti says getting New Zealand-trained nursing graduates in work is a “very high priority” for him, as Te Whatu Ora considers expanding their options.

September 2025

Sarita Sharma: The capital’s face of a fighting nurse

By Renee Kiriona

September 12, 2025

There’s one face that shines through at every single rally, picket and march in Wellington that has anything to do with nurses or health. And that face belongs to Sarita Sharma.

September 2025

She’s aged 87 and still teaches — Grace Benson and her thousands of diamonds

By Joel Maxwell

August 29, 2025

For more than 40 years Grace Benson has lovingly shaped and polished thousands of her ‘diamonds’ — so many you can find them in theatres, practices and clinics around the country.

May 2025

‘We are burning out’ — Pacific nurses speak out on understaffing

By Imelda Rokoua

May 9, 2025

A survivor of domestic violence who became a nurse to give better care than she experienced says constant short-staffing is making it really hard.

September 2025

Māori nurse awards bring out the ‘mana in their mahi’

By Renee Kiriona

August 28, 2025

Māori nurses on a journey to advance their clinical practice or develop innovative ways to help Māori communities access and understand their medicines, were recently recognised at the 2025 Te Pātaka Whaioranga (PHARMAC) Tapuhi Kaitiaki Awards.

23 Oct	National’s hiring freeze puts lives at risk Last night’s warnings from doctors at Wairau Hospital that patients may die if they don’t get more staff is yet another example of the damage National’s hiring freeze has done to our health system.
23 Oct	Recognition of need to fix primary care crisis good for patients Recognition of the need to fix the crisis in primary health care is good for patients but stops short of a much-needed overhaul of the sector, NZNO says.
20 Oct	Winners of the 2026 NZ Primary Healthcare Awards \| He Tohu Mauri Ora announced Over 600 supporters of primary care gathered at the Auckland's Viaduct Events Centre on Saturday night for a glittering gala dinner for the 2026 New Zealand Primary Healthcare Awards \| He Tohu Mauri Ora.
19 Oct	Te Whatu Ora must fully staff vital Starship Children's Hospital wards Te Whatu Ora must fully staff all wards at Starship Children's Hospital including four vital wards which are short of a total of 18 full-time nurses, NZNO says.
16 Oct	Paid placements policy will help boost nursing workforce A policy to pay nursing students a weekly allowance while they're on clinical placements will help them graduate and boost Aotearoa New Zealand's homegrown nursing workforce, NZNO says.
5 Oct	Labour's pay rise a first step, but pay equity needs a full settlement Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO has welcomed Labour's promised pay rise for care and support workers as a first step. It says care and support workers now need a full settlement of their pay equity claim and a workable pay equity system for all of its members.
1 Oct	Health NZ releases first national report on serious adverse events Health New Zealand has published its first national Serious Adverse Event Report, acknowledging the serious harm experienced by patients and whānau and outlining the improvements identified and actions underway to strengthen patient safety. The report covers serious adverse events reported in Hospital and Specialist Services between 1 July and 31 December 2025.
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.