December 2024 – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

January 2025

‘I’m gonna rip your head from your body’ — ED nurse tells of constant aggression

By Abby*

January 16, 2025

‘If you spent a day with me in ED, you’d never come back.’ In the wake of a nurse strangulation attempt, a senior emergency nurse says staff are exposed to abuse and aggression most days.

January 2025

Emergency nurses call for more security, counselling, after strangulation attempt

By Mary Longmore

January 10, 2025

Staff at Middlemore Hospital’s emergency department (ED) have asked for more security, after a nurse was punched then strangled to unconsciousness by a patient on Monday this week.

January 2025

A nurse explains why she’ll never return to mental health nursing in NZ

By Annelie Gannaway

January 8, 2025

It’s the year 2014 and my husband and I are about to leave New Zealand and move to Sweden.

January 2025

Compassionate and culturally-competent nurse sought for Gold Coast whānau

By Bradley [last name withheld]

January 7, 2025

We are a loving and dedicated Māori/ Polynesian family seeking a compassionate and skilled registered nurse or enrolled nurse to join our team in providing exceptional care for our child who sustained an acquired brain injury (ABI) at birth.

January 2025

‘She bled for our people’ – nurses pay tribute to Dame Tariana Turia

By Renee Kiriona

January 6, 2025

Nurses throughout Aotearoa passionate about achieving better Māori health outcomes are joining with te ao Māori to mourn the loss of Dame Tariana Turia – a former Associate Minister of Health and Whānau Ora Minister.

January 2025

Internationally-qualified nurses behind 12,000-surge to Australia

By Mary Longmore

December 20, 2024

The number of nurses leaving to work in Australia has soared to nearly 12,000 in the past year — a 53 per cent rise, figures from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation agency (Ahpra) show.

January 2025

Gisborne nurses working with ‘unsafe’ out-of-date staffing levels, call on local MP to intervene

By Mary Longmore

December 20, 2024

Desperate nurses in Gisborne are calling on their local MP to intervene after running on outdated staffing levels which they say are a huge risk to patient safety.

January 2025

2024 strikes an amazing expression of ‘kotahitanga’

By Renee Kiriona

December 20, 2024

The last of the health strikes for 2024 have ended with one of their negotiators encouraging nurses, midwives and healthcare workers throughout Aotearoa to keep up the “kotahitanga” leading into the new year.

January 2025

Māori and Pacific Island workforce take the hit at Health NZ

By Dr Clive Aspin

December 20, 2024

Māori and Pacific Island workforce are taking the hit as Health NZ restructures one of its arms — National Public Health Service (NPHS) — disestablishing essential roles in public health services.

January 2025

Papers reveal directors of nursing fighting for graduate employment

By Mary Longmore

December 19, 2024

No pause? Fear, confusion and ‘murky waters’ as directors of nursing (DONs) say they were not permitted to hire mid-year graduates.

January 2025

Hospital-supported training for 45 Manawatū kaiāwhina brings better patient care

By Mary Longmore

December 18, 2024

A group of 45 kaiāwhina at Palmerston North and Horowhenua hospitals has become the region’s first cohort to graduate with a level three certificate in health and wellbeing — and patient care has hugely improved as a result.

January 2025

No more Australian job advertisements in Kaitiaki

By Paul Goulter

December 18, 2024

At a time that our nursing graduates here in Aotearoa are struggling to find work and our biggest health employer Te Whatu Ora says it cannot afford any more nurses, we are facing an unprecedented risk to our nursing workforce which could impact our ability to care safely for patients for years to come.

January 2025

Auckland patient speaks out in support of nurses and kaiāwhina on strike

By Sam Price

December 16, 2024

A dad-of-three is moved to write from his hospital bed in support of nurses and kaiāwhina as they strike this month.

December 2024

DECEMBER 2024 crossword

By Kathy Stodart

December 16, 2024

Instructions: Click on any cell to get started. Click on vertical / horizontal lines to change direction, or direction can be changed by clicking on Space / Enter key. Across and Down Clues can be toggle visible by clicking on the down / up arrows.

Rolling nurse strikes reinforce plea for patient safety

By Samesh Mohanlall and Renee Kiriona

December 13, 2024

Thousands of Te Whatu Ora nurses and kaiāwhina at different locations throughout the country are taking part in rolling strikes, reinforcing their message for more patient safety.

January 2025

Health workforce plan to grow-our-own ‘hollow’, says NZNO

By Mary Longmore

December 13, 2024

Te Whatu Ora’s plan to train more local health workers is a hollow promise given how few graduates it has employed, says NZNO — Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku.

December 2024

Youth with type 2 diabetes: Screening, complications and management

By Elisa Wong, Priya Joseph, Catherine Bacon and Barbara M Daly

December 12, 2024

Type 2 diabetes is getting more and more common among young people, but the condition is challenging for them to manage, and for whānau and health professionals supporting them.

December 2024

‘It is gaslighting’ — nurses refute Levy’s claims hospitals are fully staffed

By Mary Longmore

December 11, 2024

Te Whatu Ora says it’s fully staffed with nurses and kaiāwhina — yet it won’t reveal how many shifts were below safe staffing targets in 2024.

January 2025

Safe staffing and stronger community health care — returning president and vice-president share their aims

By Mary Longmore

December 9, 2024

In the first of two leadership profiles, Kaitiaki talks to returning NZNO president Anne Daniels and vice-president Nano Tunnicliff about their priorities.

January 2025

‘It’s cruel’ — just one in seven new enrolled nurse graduates get Te Whatu Ora jobs

By Mary Longmore

December 5, 2024

A week after turning away hundreds of RN graduates, Te Whatu Ora confirms it has only offered 15 end-of-year EN graduates a job.

3 Feb	First Whānau Āwhina Plunket site in NZ delivering childhood vaccinations Childhood immunisations are now being delivered at a Whānau Āwhina Plunket site in Whāngarei, with other regions soon to also provide the new service.
29 Jan	Local access to specialist audiology services comes to Wairarapa A newly established out-patient clinic for ear, nose, and throat (ENT) and audiology appointments is providing Wairarapa patients with local access to specialist hearing services for the first time.
29 Jan	Pharmac reconsiders oestradiol patch options following community feedback Pharmac is reviewing and reconsidering its oestradiol patch options after considerable feedback was received when it announced a move to a single funded brand late last year.
22 Jan	Consultations for cancer and ADHD medicines close soon Pharmac is encouraging people to have their say on proposals to fund six more medicines and change the brand of one medicine before consultation closes on 27 January.
20 Dec	Health NZ introduces public reporting of key primary healthcare measures and PHO performance Health New Zealand \| Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) has introduced public reporting of key primary healthcare measures and Primary Health Organisation (PHO) performance.
19 Dec	Quarter 1 performance report released Health New Zealand \| Te Whatu Ora has today published its Quarterly Performance Report for Quarter 1, covering the period 1 July to 30 September 2024.
18 Dec	Recent uptick in Boostrix immunisations amid whooping cough epidemic, but work still to do As the healthcare sector continues to respond to a whooping cough (pertussis) epidemic across the motu, it’s promising to see a recent uptick in the number of Boostrix immunisations among the 15- to 44-year-old age group, with a recent doubling of doses administered from about 1,000 per week to over 2,000 per week.
18 Dec	Extra security to again keep EDs safe this summer Health Minister Dr Shane Reti is again reminding New Zealanders that violence against patients, visitors and health workers won’t be tolerated, with additional security for hospital emergency departments across the country this summer.
13 Dec	Mental health and addiction targets implementation plans released Health New Zealand \| Te Whatu Ora has today published its first quarterly results for four of the five mental health and addiction targets, covering the period 1 July – 30 September 2024.
12 Dec	Health targets encouraging – work continues New data shows that the Government’s focus on health targets is putting the brakes on the steep decline in delivery seen over the past five years.
12 Dec	Gisborne receives mental health beds boost Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey today opened Gisborne Hospital’s new acute mental health unit, Te Whare Awhi Ora, and says the region will be better served by a bigger, more therapeutic acute mental health unit.
9 Dec	Afghan women ‘banned from nursing and midwife training’ in latest blow to rights BBC News has reported that female nursing and midwifery students in Afghanistan have been told not to return to their studies, effectively ending women’s only access to further education, and putting women and children’s lives at risk.
9 Dec	How student and early career nurses can influence policymaking The International Council of Nurses (ICN) held a webinar which highlighted the vital importance of primary and preventative health care in meeting the World Health Organization’s (WHO) challenging goal of achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030
3 Dec	Health NZ end-of-year deficit confirmed In publishing its annual report, Health NZ has confirmed it ended the financial year with a deficit of $722 million, against a target surplus of $54 million.
2 Dec	ICN says COP29 climate finance shortfall threatens the planet’s health The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has expressed profound disappointment with the outcomes of COP29, held in Baku, particularly the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance that was passed despite significant objections from developing countries.
29 Nov	Minister reminds public health officials of priorities Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti says the National Public Health Service should concentrate its focus on prioritising serious public health issues facing New Zealanders.
29 Nov	Community providers rally to protect hapū māma and pēpi as national whooping cough case numbers surpass 1,000 for 2024 Hapū māmā are being urged to get immunised, and parents and caregivers are encouraged to get their babies immunised on time, as whooping cough case numbers continue to climb across Aotearoa New Zealand.
28 Nov	Govt ignores health crisis, plans to axe 1500 public health roles The health of New Zealanders will suffer because of the Government’s plan to axe nearly 1500 roles at Te Whatu Ora, coming at a time when the public health system is already under severe pressure.
27 Nov	Health New Zealand Establishes Technical Advisory Group to Lead Transformation in Maternity Care This team of experts and community representatives will play a key role in the development of the Maternity Commissioning Framework, a core element of the wider Kahu Taurima programme, which aims to make maternity and early years services more equitable, accessible, and whānau-centered.
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.