Health officials have today reported 14,128 new community cases of Covid-19 and five Covid-related deaths. Video / NZ Herald
A bonus scheme that pays Auckland nurses and midwives $500 for every night shift they work has been extended to help combat severe staffing shortages amid Omicron.
One nurse told the Herald earlier this week that there was concern among staff that the extra shifts they were pickingup were leaving them exhausted and potentially jeopardising patient care.
With hundreds of hospital staff off sick, executive leadership teams had been forced to work in emergency departments, making beds, answering call-bells and clearing empty linen ships.
The bonus scheme was originally only in place until today but has now been extended.
"All three Auckland metro DHBs have extended the system in the short term while hospital demand remains high and significant Covid-19-related staffing shortages continue. The length of the extension at each DHB is based on their local needs," a spokesperson for Northern Region Health Co-ordination Centre told the Herald.
All nurses, midwives and other hospital support staff employed by Auckland, Waitematā or Counties Manukau DHB, who worked a full eight-hour night shift had been given an extra $500 allowance on top of the amount they would usually get under the multi-employer collective agreement.
If they worked overtime - which equated to more than an eight-hour shift or 80 hours a fortnight - staff received an additional $250, a Waitematā DHB document seen by the Herald showed.
Ordinarily, a nurse would earn between $220 to $320 a shift, depending on length of service and skills. A charge nurse or a specialist nurse could earn $320 to $520 a shift. They all receive an additional 25 per cent after 6pm and 50 per cent more for weekends.
Auckland City Hospital Covid-19 ward. Photo / Auckland DHB
Nurses Society of New Zealand director David Wills said the added $500 was a significant bonus which showed how desperate boards were for staff. He could not recall that amount being offered before.
He understood doctors had also been offered additional payments for working night shifts and overtime during this period.
While Wills said the extra payments had been generally well received, one nurse who didn't want to be identified said there had been some frustration over the lack of fairness.
"It was not equitable to all as it was just night shift and overtime day shifts that qualified. People are falling over each other to pick up extra shifts now. We all work hard, we are all exhausted, but only some get the payment," the nurse who worked at Waitematā DHB said.
Today's Covid cases
There were 3498 cases in Auckland today – and there are now more active cases in Canterbury than in New Zealand's largest city.
Data from the Ministry of Health shows as of Friday, there are 15,067 active cases in Canterbury.
That is followed by the Counties Manukau (13,739), Waitematā (11,716) and Waikato (11,703) DHBs.
Auckland's Middlemore Hospital has the most patients with Covid-19 at 230.
Today's hospital admissions were in Northland (22), North Shore (177), Middlemore (230), Auckland (209), Waikato (68), Bay of Plenty (35), Lakes (8), Tairāwhiti (4), Hawke's Bay (23), Taranaki (6), MidCentral (13), Hutt Valley (18), Capital and Coast (44), Wairarapa (5), Whanganui (1), Nelson Marlborough (13), Canterbury (47), South Canterbury (2), and the Southern region (18).
Northern Region Health Coordination Centre chief clinical officer Dr Andrew Old this week said case numbers in Auckland had continued to track downwards confirming the region had passed its peak for case numbers, which were expected to decline in coming weeks.
With new hospital admissions appearing to plateau, Old hoped hospitalisations would turn a corner over the next week.
However, pressure continues to mount at the region's hospitals with hospitalisation rates remaining high and staffing numbers below ideal levels.
Old said, before Covid, DHBs in Auckland were already running about 15 per cent below ideal staffing levels because of issues such as vacancies and unplanned leave. This week staff levels were down as much as a further 10 per cent.
