October 2021 vol 27 no 9

Record turnout as DHB members accept offer

By Kai Tiaki editors

October 15, 2021

After 15 months of bargaining, a nationwide strike and countless meetings, the members have spoken.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

Offer on the table for DHB members, other sectors await voting outcome

By Kai Tiaki editors

October 1, 2021

As the countdown begins for the ratification vote on the DHB MECA, other industrial sectors come to grips with COVID-19.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

New NZNO leadership team after board election results

By Kai Tiaki editors

October 1, 2021

NZNO has a new president and vice president after September’s board election. Anne Daniels was elected president and Nano Tunnicliff was elected vice president after voting closed on September 10.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

Financial statement outlined at AGM

By Kai Tiaki editors

October 1, 2021

NZNO management will take a microscope to spending to cut a cashflow shortfall, the 2021 annual general meeting has heard.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

Nurses ‘will be involved in shaping changes’

By Kai Tiaki editors

October 1, 2021

Nurses will “absolutely” have input on how health reforms roll out next year, according to the man in charge of the transition.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

Nursing panel to investigate missed CCDM deadline

By Kai Tiaki editors

October 1, 2021

Two former NZNO staff members have been appointed to a four-nurse panel to investigate why the safe staffing accord missed its deadline.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

Hospital visitors must be limited in a pandemic

By acting manager nursing and professional services Kate Weston

October 1, 2021

In September 2021, NZNO supported members at Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) who had put in place a provisional improvement notice (PIN), citing health and safety concerns over a permissive visitor policy.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

Panel discusses challenges of living and learning through a pandemic

By Kai Tiaki editors

October 1, 2021

Microbiologist and science communicator Siouxsie Wiles spoke on NZNO’s panel on living through a pandemic about the “huge” amount of harassment she had been subjected to since becoming a public educator on COVID-19 last April.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

Hutchison honoured for setting up nurse-led palliative and oncology services on Coast

By Kai Tiaki editors

October 1, 2021

Retiring nurse manager Cheryl Hutchison received NZNO’s services to nursing award at the AGM, an acknowledgement of her work to set up nurse-led palliative and oncology services on the West Coast.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

Kai Tiaki online only from 2022

By Kai Tiaki editors

October 1, 2021

Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand will be heading exclusively online by 2022, but will still be accessible to NZNO members through a simple online registration.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

Award of honour ‘pretty special’: Leonie Metcalfe

By Kai Tiaki editors

October 1, 2021

NZNO’s award of honour recipient Leonie Metcalfe has spent her life sticking up for the underdog.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

DHBs obliged to staff safely in latest offer

By Kai Tiaki editors

October 1, 2021

The latest offer from district health boards, in multi-employer collective agreement (MECA) negotiations with NZNO, allows DHBs to be penalised and health services cut back if they are not able to be safely staffed.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

Young nurse of the year: Daniel Mataafa

By Kai Tiaki editors

October 1, 2021

It was a high school injury on the rugby field in 2009 which spun Daniel Mataafa unexpectedly on to the nursing track.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

Farewell to esteemed Whanganui nurse

By Kai Tiaki editors

October 1, 2021

Ailsa Crawford Stewart’s contribution to the Whanganui community was immense. The former hospital matron, staunch women’s advocate and community stalwart died in Whanganui Hospital in August, at age 77.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

Nuku: Nursing voice needed in reforms

By co-editor Joel Maxwell

October 1, 2021

Te Rūnanga has worked hard to understand the long game of political decision-making, says the re-elected kaiwhakahaere.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

Daniels: It’s time for collective action

By co-editor Joel Maxwell

October 1, 2021

Safe staffing, better working conditions and pay equity across nursing sectors will be the focus of NZNO’s new president.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

Zooming in on 2021

By co-editors Mary Longmore and Joel Maxwell

October 1, 2021

A future vision of a thriving health system, updates on safe staffing and handling difficult assisted dying conversations, were among topics covered when speakers zoomed in for the 2021 NZNO conference Our future – the health of Aotearoa last month. Just over 200 people registered for the online event.

Improving quality in a fracture service

By Claire Budge, Melanie Taylor and Paula Eyres

October 1, 2021

Quality improvement (QI) should be an integral part of health service delivery. As best practice principles evolve and system changes are demanded, services need to be evaluated and assessed to ensure they are being run as effectively and efficiently as possible, while meeting the ever-changing needs of practitioners and their patients.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

The needle’s edge: our COVID-19 future

By Kai Tiaki editors

October 1, 2021

Alice Gillan-Sutton, first-year Massey nursing student, faces a workplace future that hasn’t been contemplated in decades.

October 2021 vol 27 no 9

Nursing Research Section supports nurses’ growth

By Lorraine Ritchie and Priya Saravanakumar

October 1, 2021

Nau mai, haere mai ki a koutou e te whānau tapuhi. Te Roopu Nursing Research Section/Te Wāhanga Rangahau Tapuhi (NRS) is one of a number of colleges and sections which form the professional arm of NZNO.

17 Sept	Dr Le Heron takes title of 2024 Alzheimers NZ Fellow Distinguished neurologist and cognitive neuroscientist, Dr Campbell Le Heron, has been made the 2024 Alzheimers NZ Fellow for his work researching and managing cognitive disorders.
11 Sept	Aged care will be worse off if redesign rushed New Zealanders needing aged care support and the people who care for them will be worse off if the Government pushes through a flawed and rushed redesign of dementia and aged care.
11 Sept	Govt takes action on mpox response, widens access to vaccine The Government is taking immediate action on a number of steps around New Zealand’s response to mpox, including improving access to vaccine availability so people who need it can do so more easily, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today.
10 Sept	ICN launches new position statement and discussion paper setting out a revolution in the delivery of Primary Health Care The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is launching its new position statement and a discussion paper on Primary Health Care (PHC) at its Nurse Practitioner/Advanced Practice Nursing Network (NP/APN Network) Conference in Aberdeen, Scotland.
9 Sept	First cancer medicine decision following Pharmac funding boost Pharmac has decided to widen access to two medicines for several types of cancer. Pembrolizumab (branded as Keytruda) will be funded from 1 October 2024 for eligible people with advanced triple-negative breast cancer, head and neck cancer, colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, and Hodgkin lymphoma. Nivolumab (branded as Opdivo) will be funded from 1 November for eligible people with kidney cancer.
6 Sept	Health agencies working with Police on rebalancing roles for mental health responses Health New Zealand \| Te Whatu Ora and the Ministry of Health - Manatū Hauora are working with Police to change some of the ways agencies respond to mental health. The change will see an increased health-led response, supporting Police to focus on core Policing.
4 Sept	Nurses’ bargaining starts with action for safe staffing Nurses are kicking off their collective bargaining with Te Whatu Ora by taking action for safe staffing on Friday, New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says.
29 Aug	Te Whatu Ora redundancy proposal in breach of collective agreements Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora’s call for employees to end their employment via voluntary redundancy is in breach of the established consultation processes, New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says.
28 Aug	ICN urges nurses to be vigilant after WHO declares mpox an international public health emergency The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has called for extra vigilance in the wake of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) declaration that the upsurge in mpox 2024 outbreaks in the African region constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
27 Aug	Retirees to rally for safe Aged Residential Care Wellington retirees will rally tomorrow to protest staffing cuts at Aged Residential Care facilities. They want a fair go for staff and residents.
26 Aug	Mental health declines, relationships and jobs at risk without HRT, survey results show A nationwide survey that canvassed over 2000 hormone replacement therapy (HRT) users has proven how critical hormones are to general health, productivity, and mental wellness.
23 Aug	Govt funding boosts immunisation in high needs communities Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti has welcomed preliminary data on a major immunisation initiative, saying it reinforces a commitment to get resources and funding out of a Wellington-based bureaucratic tangle and directly to frontline providers.
22 Aug	Dargaville nurses to strike over doctor shortage Staff at Dargaville Hospital are sick and tired of working in fear because of the unavailability of an on-site doctor. Therefore, members of New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) will strike for one hour to voice their frustrations on 29 August.
22 Aug	New health report makes recommendations to support rural primary healthcare A new report about rural primary care identifies inequities in service provision, major pressures on funding and workforce, unsustainably high levels of clinical risk, and barriers for patients to access care when and where they need it.
19 Aug	ICN contributes to Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has submitted a comprehensive evidence-based report highlighting gravely concerning nurse recruitment trends, as part of the latest reporting round on implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel.
16 Aug	Health NZ corrects the record: Whangārei Hospital remains open Whangārei Hospital Emergency Department continues to accept patients and new admissions and any claims otherwise are false and inaccurate.
13 Aug	Healing Humanity Initiative Launches with First Grant to 3D Hands The Healing Humanity Initiative, in collaboration with the Hunt Family Foundation, is thrilled to launch and announce its first grant of $20,000 to Free 3D Hands.
8 Aug	Cutting frontline services will result in worsening mental health outcomes Family violence is likely to increase, more young people will switch off at school and there will be a worsening of mental health outcomes thanks to the Government’s latest cost-cutting exercise.
6 Aug	Update on cancer drug Keytruda access Health New Zealand is moving forward implementation planning to ensure a small group of cancer patients can take advantage of free early access to the drug Keytruda shortly ahead of Pharmac starting to fund the medication.
6 Aug	Govt delivers on overdue Christchurch ED unit Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says delivery of a long overdue Emergency Observation Unit for Christchurch Hospital will reduce admissions, free up valuable resources across the hospital and help deliver on shorter stays in Emergency Departments.