July 2025 – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

July 2025

‘We’re angry now’: Nurses reject ‘worse’ offer and vote to strike

By Kaitiaki coeditors

July 11, 2025

Disappointed, hopeful . . . and now angry.

July 2025

Employers’ disregard for safety pushes nurse out of the profession

By (name withheld by agreement)

July 11, 2025

Firstly I would like to express my gratitude and say how much I value the commitment NZNO has been putting into fighting not only for equal / fair pay but also safe staffing and conditions.

July 2025

‘This will be your legacy David Seymour’ — ACT’s Regulatory Standards Bill blasted by NZNO at hearing

By Joel Maxwell

July 11, 2025

It’s a legacy — but one of Māori illness and early deaths.

July 2025

200-words-and-done: What does the Regulatory Standards Bill mean for nurses?

By Joel Maxwell

July 11, 2025

Nurses are busy – here’s Kaitiaki’s 200-words-and-done explainer of what ACT’s Regulatory Standards Bill means for everyday health-care workers.

July 2025

Dunedin’s grassroots movement for culturally safe care tired of fighting

By Munisha Singh, Zarghona Lafraie, Kym Makanesi, Louela Turner and Anna Egbuji

July 10, 2025

There were three tragic adverse events within the Southern District Health Board (DHB) that resulted in the loss of lives in 2022. These were not just clinical failings, they were devastating reminders of how cultural misunderstanding, lack of awareness and systemic inequities can have fatal consequences. Four health professionals team up to share their views with us.

July 2025

Nursing students ready to walk: “Hire us or we will leave”

By Co-Editors, Kaitiaki

July 9, 2025

Concerning interim findings of the NZNO 2025 Student Survey has found most students will go overseas if they can’t get jobs in New Zealand.

July 2025

Te Whatu Ora offer further devalues Māori

By Co-Editors, Kaitiaki

July 9, 2025

Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora’s removal of both clauses involving Māori from their offer in collective bargaining shows not only disrespect but a spurning of their legal obligations, NZNO kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku says.

July 2025

ICN trip inspires new nurse to pursue leadership

By Sione ‘Ulufonua

July 4, 2025

Attending the ICN Congress in Helsinki this year was an exciting and inspiring experience for new graduate nurse Sione ‘Ulufonua, who now wishes to pursue a nursing leadership role.

July 2025

Te Whatu Ora refuses to address patient safety concerns

By Co-Editors, Kaitiaki

July 4, 2025

Te Whatu Ora is refusing to address calls to prioritise patient safety by adequately resourcing safe staffing levels, NZNO says.

July 2025

‘We no longer had to stress about kai’

By Renee Kiriona

July 4, 2025

Sophie Beca was doing it tough in her final year of a nursing degree until she won an award that helped her get through.

July 2025

Care worker: ‘They stole my dream to build on my whenua’

By Renee Kiriona

July 3, 2025

Tiaho Whakamarurangi had dreams of returning to her ancestral Māori land on the banks of the Waikato River.

July 2025

No, it’s not all in their head — how to avoid ‘diagnostic overshadowing’ for patients with a mental health history

By Anthony O’Brien, Carolyn Swanson, Debbie Peterson, Ruth Cunningham and Stefan Heinz

July 1, 2025

Do people with a mental health and addictions history get a raw deal when presenting to health services with physical symptoms? This can happen where the clinician is not alert to the problem of ‘diagnostic overshadowing’.

July 2025

People’s select committee on pay equity encourages submissions

By Marilyn Waring

July 1, 2025

The people’s select committee on pay equity, formed by 10 women who are former MPs, has held its first meeting and released its terms of reference.

July 2025

‘They came on a good day’ — Wellington nurses say new ED must be safely staffed

By Mary Longmore

June 30, 2025

Up to 66 nurses short and dozens of patients stacked in cramped corridors — that’s the day-to-day reality of Wellington Hospital’s cramped emergency department, say nurses.

June 2025

‘Society’s deepest wounds’: Whangārei emergency nurse speaks out on inequities

By Bridget Firth

June 30, 2025

‘This isn’t a funding shortfall, it’s a shift of values,’ a Whangarei ED nurse tells an audience who attended a packed out hui-for-health in her city.

July 2025

Protecting independence: Why living alone matters for older patients

By Hato Hone St John

June 27, 2025

New Zealand’s population is rapidly ageing, with over 1.1 million residents aged 60 and older – nearly a quarter of the total.¹ At the same time, single-person households are expected to be the fastest-growing household type,² with one in four adults aged 65 and over already living alone.³

June 2025

‘They’re crushing us’ — perioperative nurses take to the picket line

By Mary Longmore

June 25, 2025

More than a 100 perioperative nurses, health-care assistants (HCAs) and hospital colleagues and supporters turned out onto the streets outside Whangārei Hospital yesterday in a 12-hour rolling strike.

July 2025

‘Don’t forget us’ says primary health nursing leader

By Renee Kiriona

June 24, 2025

Increases in primary care funding announced today must be passed on to nurses to fix chronic staff shortages so New Zealanders can get in to see health-care professionals faster.

July 2025

‘I don’t know why everyone doesn’t want to work in aged care’ — college of gerontology nursing chair

By Bridget Richards

June 24, 2025

‘It’s about humanity’ — gerontology nursing leader Bridget Richards reckons aged care is incredibly fulfilling.

July 2025

A striking perioperative nurse shares the challenges she faces every day

By Steph Moule

June 23, 2025

Forced overtime, understaffing and patient pile ups — NZNO delegate Steph Moule shares her daily experiences as a perioperative nurse.

Uncut – news briefs

10 July	NZNO welcomes Te Whatu Ora backdown on Wellington maternity services Te Whatu Ora's decision to pull the plug on a trial to take beds away from Wellington Hospital's maternity and gynaecology wards is the right decision, NZNO says.
10 July	Government must save Tōtara Hospice: NZNO The Coalition Government must provide urgent funding to Totara Hospice to stop it having to cut its services by a quarter from next week, NZNO says.
27 June	New mental health centre to transform care in the Wellington region Health Minister Simeon Brown and Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey have today marked the beginning of construction on the new Sir Mark Dunajtschik Mental Health Centre in Lower Hutt.
27 June	New STI e-learning for midwives will increase detection, testing, treatment and prevention A new e-learning course was launched early June to equip midwives with up-to-date knowledge on effectively communicating relevant and tailored information about syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
25 June	Changes for prescribing ADHD medications Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey has welcomed prescribing changes that will enable GPs and nurse practitioners to diagnose and treat adults with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
23 June	Minister should fess up on cuts Simeon Brown needs to be honest about how much more money he expects Health New Zealand to cut from its budget to get back in the black. “National has chosen to underfund our health system and expects Health New Zealand to make even more cuts - but won’t say how much,” Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said.
17 June	Notice of NZNO 2025 Board Elections - Call for Nominations Nominations are required to fill seven (7) positions on the NZNO Board. For details, see the notices section in the classifieds
16 June	Gender Gap Closes at Fastest Rate Since Pandemic – But Full Parity Still Over a Century Away The global gender gap has closed to 68.8%, led by economic and political advances – yet progress is still behind pre-pandemic pace, with full parity an estimated 123 years away.
16 June	Against a backdrop of escalating global health challenges, the ruling council of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has issued a powerful call for urgent action to address the nursing workforce crisis. Against a backdrop of escalating global health challenges, the ruling council of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has issued a powerful call for urgent action to address the nursing workforce crisis.
13 June	ICN charts a bold vision and calls for urgent investment in nursing to secure the future of care Against a backdrop of escalating global health challenges, the ruling council of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has issued a powerful call for urgent action to address the nursing workforce crisis.
12 June	Unions take pay equity fight to the ILO New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges has taken the pay equity fight to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conference in Geneva, Switzerland. The ILO is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards.
5 June	Refreshed strategy released to tackle gambling harm Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey today announced that the Government has released the refreshed Strategy to Prevent and Minimise Gambling Harm.
3 June	ICN launches new topic brief underscoring vital role of nurses to protect the planet, human health and all life on Earth The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has released a new topic brief titled “Nursing for Planetary Health and Wellbeing”, emphasizing the vital role nurses play in addressing the health impacts of our shared environmental crises. The brief highlights the emerging concept of planetary health and stresses the urgency to recognize and take action to reduce the impacts that human disruptions to Earth’s natural systems are having on the health of individuals and communities.
13 May	On International Nurses Day a new State of the World’s Nursing Report charts a path toward Universal Health Coverage As the world’s nurses celebrate International Nurses Day (IND), ICN issues a rallying cry to governments around the globe for urgent nursing support, following the launch of the second World Health Organization (WHO) State of the World’s Nursing (SOWN) report.
8 May	NZ First’s gender definition bill will harm mental health, counsellors warn The New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC) is deeply concerned by New Zealand First’s proposed Member’s Bill, which seeks to legally define “man” and “woman” solely based on biological sex.
6 May	Police and Health NZ continue to implement mental health response changes Phase Two of the Police Mental Health Response Change Programme is set to be extended with a second group of districts implementing Phase Two from 19 May.
1 May	New weekend urgent care service launched in Tairāwhati Access to urgent healthcare on weekends will be restored in Tairāwhati this Saturday (3 May 2025) with the launch of a new service, Health Minister Simeon Brown has announced.
29 Apr	Taupō Hospital accredited to train next generation of rural doctors Taupō Hospital has become the first hospital in the North Island to receive accreditation to deliver Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) training, Health Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey have announced.
14 Apr	Rural Health Roadshow to hear from rural communities Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Rural Health and Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey announced today he will be coming to 12 rural locations across the country on a Rural Health Roadshow, starting this week in Levin.
10 Apr	Expanded emergency department at Auckland City Hospital will see capacity increase Health Minister Simeon Brown has today officially opened Auckland City Hospital’s newly refurbished adult emergency department.
1 Apr	Health NZ wants your feedback on a Paediatric Adolescent and Young Adult Palliative Model of Care Health New Zealand \| Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) is seeking feedback on potential options for national palliative care services for tamariki, rangatahi/children, young people and their whānau/families.
27 March	Bar still too high for small mental health providers Small mental health providers will still be locked out of co-funding from the Mental Health Innovation Fund despite a lower threshold.
25 March	ICN advocates for health system gender equity and women’s health The International Council of Nurses (ICN) brought the nursing voice to the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) which wrapped up on Friday. ICN participated in critical discussions on gender equity and women’s health throughout the event.
19 March	ICN warns of healthcare crisis as USAID funding cuts devastate nursing initiatives in the world’s most vulnerable regions The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has documented alarming firsthand evidence of widespread disruption and collapse of essential health care services following the sudden withdrawal of USAID and other funding.
19 March	New High Dependency Unit will expand critical care services in Wellington Health Minister Simeon Brown has today officially opened Wellington Regional Hospital’s first High Dependency Unit (HDU).
13 March	Pharmac to fund more cancer medicines Pharmac is funding six more medicines for cancers and one for antibiotic resistant infections.