December 2021 vol 27 no 11 – Page 2 – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

December 2021 vol 27 no 11

Wins, progress and challenges across industrial sectors as 2021 draws to close

By Kai Tiaki editors

December 1, 2021

The year was a challenging one across the industrial sectors as COVID-19 hit workplaces around Aotearoa.

December 2021 vol 27 no 11

‘New thinking needed’ on aged care RN crisis

By Margaret Crozier

December 1, 2021

Better status and remuneration are needed to ease the nursing crisis in aged care, says a major recruiter.

December 2021 vol 27 no 11

Please keep reading online – for nursing

By Teresa O’Connor & Anne Manchester

December 1, 2021

This final print edition of Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand is a momentous moment in the publication’s 113-year history. It is, we suppose, an inevitability in this third decade of the 21st century.

February 2022

Nurse practitioners ready to play a role in assisted dying

By Tamah Clapham

December 1, 2021

After seeing too many people die without whānau, Auckland NP Tamah Clapham has trained and registered to provide care under the End of Life Choice Act.

February 2022

Bullying – what should you do?

By lead organiser Christina Couling, (Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui)

December 1, 2021

Nobody, even the boss, has the right to direct bullying behaviour at you.

December 2021 vol 27 no 11

Pay equity negotiations continue past deadline – new date set

By Kai Tiaki editors

December 1, 2021

Pay equity negotiations ran over deadline with district health boards blaming the complexity of the issue.

December 2021 vol 27 no 11

Police ‘reassurance’ patrols for vax sites

By Kai Tiaki editors

December 1, 2021

Police have launched “community reassurance” patrols around some COVID-19 vaccination sites as nurses face abuse and threats.

December 2021 vol 27 no 11

Aged care safe staffing petition presented

By Kai Tiaki editors

December 1, 2021

NZNO and E tū members delivered a 5000-signature petition to Parliament calling for mandated safe staffing levels in aged care.

December 2021 vol 27 no 11

A farewell to print…

By Kai Tiaki editors

December 1, 2021

In this final print edition, we look back at the story of Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand.

Digital organising accelerates in 2021

By associate industrial services manager Iain Lees-Galloway

December 1, 2021

It has become trite to say but nevertheless true that we live in extraordinary times.

Daily doses – uncut news

12 Mar	Funding change will ensure more consistent emergency care for New Zealanders A simple change in how ambulance medicines are funded is set to create more consistent emergency care.
9 Mar	Questions over dilapidated and cramped renal unit forced to ration dialysis The Health Minister must explain why after years of concerns from nurses about Christchurch Hospital’s barely functioning dialysis unit, he only stepped in late yesterday when life-saving treatment had to be rationed, NZNO says.
3 Mar	Hospitals and health workers should never be targets The right of health care workers to provide care during international conflicts must be protected, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO says.
2 Mar	Public and Mental Health Nurses settle collective agreement Health New Zealand welcomes the ratification of the two Public Service Association (PSA) Public and Mental Health Nurses collective employment agreements for Auckland and the Rest of New Zealand.
27 Feb	Whakatāne Hospital to resume secondary obstetrics and gynaecology services Whakatāne Hospital will resume secondary obstetrics and gynaecology services from 8am on 13 April 2026.
26 Feb	Counsellors warn NZ is normalising crisis levels of youth distress Youth mental distress has become entrenched, suicide remains a national tragedy, and our systems are failing to intervene early enough, says the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC).
26 Feb	Record uptake nearly doubles advanced nurse education scholarships A record 235 primary care registered nurses will begin advanced education this year – nearly doubling the number originally planned – following strong demand for the Government’s new Registered Nurse Primary Care Scholarships, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
19 Feb	‘Top Up’ to deliver faster access to support Seven grassroots mental health initiatives supporting small and hard-to-reach communities have received funding to deliver faster access to support, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey announced today.
18 Feb	Pharmac proposes funding new treatments that could transform early care for people with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, a type of blood cancer People in New Zealand living with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) could soon benefit from funded access to targeted treatments under a new proposal from Pharmac.
13 Feb	Te Whatu Ora’s embarrassing U-turn over proposed car park plan Te Whatu Ora needs to go back to the drawing board and prioritise worker safety after reversing plans to charge hospital workers market rates for car parks, NZNO says.
11 Feb	Stark differences in COVID-19 vaccination rates between Māori and non-Māori, research finds A new study analysing COVID-19 vaccine uptake has found markedly lower vaccination rates among Māori, which researchers link to existing inequities in healthcare access.
9 Feb	ICN’s call for International Nurses Day 2026: empower nurses to save lives ICN has announced the theme for International Nurses Day (IND) 2026: Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives. This focus sends a clear message that to maximize the full life-saving impact of the nursing workforce, we must empower nurses with safe, fair work environments and full nursing practice, influence, and leadership.
5 Feb	Global nurse leaders gather in Japan to address urgent workforce crisis Nursing leaders from Japan and around the world are gathering in Yokohama this week for two major nursing events that are advancing the global conversation on how countries can protect, retain and invest in their nursing workforce as pressures mount across health systems worldwide.
4 Feb	Midwives to deliver more vaccinations to help protect families Midwives are now able to offer a wider range of funded immunisations, supporting families from pregnancy through the early months of a child’s life, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
30 Jan	Opening of E Tū Wairua Hinengaro – Mason Clinic Health New Zealand has marked the opening of E Tū Wairua Hinengaro, a new purpose-built facility at Auckland’s Mason Clinic designed to strengthen and modernise forensic mental healthcare in Aotearoa.
29 Jan	NZNO disgusted by nurse’s killing in the US Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO has expressed disgust at the shooting and killing of nurse Alex Pretti on a Minneapolis, US street on Saturday morning by federal officers.
27 Jan	New national group forms to support public healthcare in Aotearoa Kaitiaki Hauora - Together for Public Health has been formed as a national group bringing together patients, health workers, iwi and Māori health representatives, unions, advocacy organisations, and community groups, with backing from a growing number of organisations across the health sector.
22 Jan	Pharmac proposes to fund life changing treatments for people with cystic fibrosis Pharmac is proposing to fund new treatment options for people living with cystic fibrosis with eligible mutations, including young children, from 1 April 2026.
05 Jan	Nurses pay tribute to Dame Poutasi The passing of Dame Karen Poutasi has seen Aotearoa lose one of its foremost health leaders and a woman of high integrity, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku says.
12 Dec	Holidays Act remediation payments update As of 12 December 2025, more than 83,000 current employees (representing nearly 93% of the current workforce) have been paid over $657m holidays act remediation payments for their current role.
8 Dec	Expanding access to everyday medicines Registered nurse prescribers can now prescribe nearly double the number of medicines, significantly expanding access to timely, local care for New Zealanders, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
1 Dec	Govt breaking promise to local communities Labour’s new Family Doctor Loan Scheme will support doctors and nurse practitioners with low-interest loans to set up new practices or buy into existing ones.