Aged-care night shift nurse urges government action on staffing and low wages

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Aged-care facility night shift nurse Barbara Lewis is another Tairāwhiti nurse to speak at a recent New Zealand Nurses Organisation public meeting where issues around pay, conditions and staffing levels were discussed. Below is an abridged version of her address.

“Working in an aged-care facility where we are overwhelmingly short of staff is not easy,”  Ms Lewis said. “I just want to care for them and enable them to live a life where they are supported by well-trained nurses and healthcare assistants (HCA). I also work with our loved ones with advanced dementia.

“It is demanding, yet rewarding work.”

She said it was challenging with 66 residents, three nurses and two enrolled nurses. There were healthcare assistants who did the work done by nurses, but who received no extra pay.

“More nurses are needed across the health sector — that is what we need.

“We take care of the most vulnerable people in the community. It is like no one takes notice of them, but there is a small number of workers working for them.

“Some of our workers are living on a starvation wage. Those on Level 2 and 3 are just struggling. The rates of pay are too low for the complexity of work.”

Years ago, there was a Government ratio of six residents to one worker.

At present, on night shift, the rest home and hospital wings have 46 residents and two HCAs, or 23 to one.

In the dementia area where the work was unpredictable, there were two HCAs at a ratio of 10 to 1, she said.

“The Government needs to change the pay equity process to include fair and robust wage increases. Wages need to be above the  minimum level. But pay has gone backwards,” Ms Lewis said.