workforce
Nurses strike outside Wellington hospital in 2018 . Picture : AAP Image / Boris Jancic
“ Our system is teetering dangerously towards not being able to survive .
On the brink of collapse
New Zealand ’ s nursing crisis .
By Eleanor Campbell
On the frontlines of hospitals and emergency units around New Zealand , nurses and midwives are suffering from deteriorating working conditions .
Nurses claim they are at breaking point , reporting severe exhaustion , dangerous staffing levels and unacceptable pay and conditions .
“ We go home from work and we cry ,” said registered nurse Nano Tunnicliff , who works in an infusion unit at Kenepuru Hospital in northern Wellington .
“ I ’ ve been in the nursing industry for over 30 years now ; it is the worst I have ever experienced .”
In June , 30,000 nurses , midwives and healthcare assistants ran a nationwide strike over eight hours . The movement gained traction earlier this year after the country ’ s Labour-led government announced a public sector wage freeze .
Future walk-offs have now been called off due to the District Health Board ’ s ( DHB ) refusal to offer pay changes before the upcoming strike notices were withdrawn . Nano , a former president of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation ( NZNO ), likened the situation to “ blackmail ”.
“ We ’ re on the brink of collapse , our system is teetering dangerously towards not being able to survive ,” she said .
“ Unfortunately we don ’ t have the protection of patient-nurse ratios in New Zealand , so it comes down to what you can do , with the staff you do have ,” she said .
With large numbers of home-grown nurses being drawn into COVID-19 vaccination programs and a lack of international workers available to fill the vacancies , already depleted staffing levels are worsening in the country ’ s health sector .
“ To be brutally honest , it ’ s been compounded by COVID ,” said Nano .
“ Today , on our particular unit , we don ’ t have anyone else that can come and fill in , so you have to make do with the staff you have on the floor and that time we only had three , with 15 patients coming in .
“ Tomorrow , in the same unit , we have three staff rostered on and 24 patients coming in .”
In New Zealand , there have been increased reports of nurses moving to Australia in search of better pay , affordable living and better working conditions . Australian official health bodies and governments have made efforts to move in on the growing dissatisfaction .
The Queensland government recently took out ads in the New Zealand Herald which urged Kiwi nurses and midwives to “ ditch the winter chill , expand your horizons in sunny Queensland !”.
Many nurses , including Nano , have said they would consider moving if they did not have familial obligations . This has raised future concerns over a potential mass exodus of health workers .
“ When the borders opened up recently and the travel bubble opened , many nurses from New Zealand took the opportunity to move to Australia for better working conditions and pay ,” said Nano .
“ Now we of course can ’ t replace them because the New Zealand borders remain closed .”
Rosie Feliuai , 42 , is a duty nurse manager at Hawke ’ s Bay , on the east coast of New Zealand ’ s north island . A mother of four , she also works as an emergency department nurse .
She reported that emergency departments are over capacity each week , with workers unable to manage the floods of paediatric admissions caused by a recent outbreak of respiratory syncytial virus , or RSV . Nurses are having to take more days off to care for their own sick children .
“ From an ED point of view , we have 19 beds , including three resus beds . We see up to 180 patients a day ,” she said .
“ I ’ ve never been so worried for patient safety in my career . It ’ s been bad for probably about five or six years , but it ’ s certainly been dangerous this year .”
Working over 40 hours a week , Rosie told Nursing Review that the government has been unreceptive to considering the needs of families .
Rosie and her husband , who also works in healthcare , are currently unable to afford a property to live in . She says high rates of renting are common amongst those working in the sector .
“ There ’ s not really any point in having recruitment drives when there ’ s no houses , our hospitals are full , there ’ s nowhere for people to live .”
Both Nano and Rosie said that despite the abusive conditions that they face , they will continue to work in the profession in which they love .
“ I ’ m just doing the best that I can possibly do for my patients and their families ,” said Rosie .
Negotiations between the NZNO and the DHBs are ongoing , with the demands around the last negotiations around pay equity expected to be resolved in November . ■ nursingreview . com . au | 27