People brave the wet weather to take part in the nurses' strike action in Napier. Photo / Gary Hamilton-Irvine
People brave the wet weather to take part in the nurses' strike action in Napier. Photo / Gary Hamilton-Irvine
A Hawke’s Bay Hospital nursing manager and union delegate claims some vacant nursing roles are not being replaced at the hospital, which is impacting the level of care and is akin to a hiring freeze.
She said she has never been “so frustrated and angry going home from work” becauseof the lack of staffing.
However, Health NZ Te Whatu Ora said it was “continuing to actively recruit to fill vacant nurses’ positions” at the hospital, which takes time.
About 4300 patients would have procedures or specialist appointments postponed because of the nationwide strike action, Health NZ said.
More than 100 people braved the wet weather to attend a protest at Napier Soundshell and march through the CBD during the strike.
NZNO senior nursing delegate Rosie Feliuai, who is also a nurse manager of the integrated operations centre at Hawke’s Bay Hospital, claimed she was not allowed to fill some vacant nursing roles at the hospital.
She said getting approval to fill roles had been challenging for about 18 months and while some roles were filled, others were not.
“We need more resources on the floor,” she said.
“I have never been so frustrated and angry going home from work because I can not support my staff ... [and] the hospital because I’m not given the resources to do that – and that makes the job really hard.”
Feliuai has been a nurse for 26 years in hospitals in Auckland, Wellington and Hawke’s Bay.
Health NZ group director of operations for Hawke’s Bay, Rika Hentschel, said: “We are continuing to actively recruit to fill vacant nurses’ positions at Hawke’s Bay Hospital including in the integrated operations centre.
“We recognise that the recruitment process can take some time and we are grateful to our staff who support the continued delivery of services while we work to fill vacancies.”
Health NZ confirmed “life-preserving services” continued at hospitals during the strike.
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.
