Latest news with #TeWhatuOra
Scoop
an hour ago
- Health
- Scoop
Over Half Of Mid-Year Nursing Graduates Miss Out On Jobs
Te Whatu Ora has again failed nursing graduates - and Aotearoa New Zealand's future nursing workforce - by employing just 45% of the 2025 mid-year cohort, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) says. The mid-year graduation cohort sat their state final exams last week. Figures released by Te Whatu Ora to nursing magazine Kaitiaki on its job-matching programme ACE show just 323 of 722 applicants were matched to supported-entry roles in hospitals. NZNO National Student Unit President Bianca Grimmer says it is a "huge blow" to nursing graduates. "Hospital jobs are highly sought after and often the reason students want to get into nursing. "Te Whatu Ora used to hire 80-90% of all graduates. We were blindsided this time last year when only three in every five mid-year graduates were hired. "This year is even worse and will make some students reassess whether they continue with their studies," Bianca Grimmer says. A recent survey of 1246 nursing students found 62% would consider seeking a nursing job overseas if they were unable to get a new graduate job in Aotearoa New Zealand. This increased to 73% for Māori students. About 36,000 of NZNO's Te Whatu Ora members are preparing for a 24-hour national strike next Wednesday 30 July after Collective Agreement negotiations stalled with a refusal by Health NZ to commit to its obligation to employ new graduates one of the sticking points. Bianca Grimmer says nursing students recently attended a jobs expo where an Australian stand was luring graduates with better wages and conditions. "We have a health system in crisis and desperately need more homegrown nurses. With 30,000 Kiwis leaving for Australia in the past year, this shortsighted decision by Te Whatu Ora will see more graduate nurses packing their bags." Bianca Grimmer says a recent media release from Te Whatu Ora urging nursing graduates to look outside the hospital system seemed to be an attempt to "soften the blow" to the mid-year cohort.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
Review Highlights Under-Staffing At Nelson Hospital
A review of Nelson Hospital has confirmed concerns that staff shortages are increasing wait times and delaying people getting the care they need, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) says. The Nelson Marlborough Clinical Quality and Systems Review carried out by Te Whatu Ora was released this afternoon and has found serious issues with the management and development of the nursing workforce at Nelson Hospital. NZNO delegate Marijke Cooper says the findings of this review go to the heart of concerns nurses are striking over next week. "Te Whatu Ora is failing to resource safe staffing levels and are delaying hiring more staff because of issues with their recruitment process. "This is having a real impact on patients because they are unable to get First Specialist Assessments. We saw in media last week concerns over ghost First Specialist Assessments at Nelson," she says. The review also found Nelson Hospital needs to do more to upskill their nurses. "Requests from nursing staff to upskill are being frequently turned down. The hiring of high-calibre nursing staff is being limited because of an inflexible approach to part-time work. "Nelson is also underinvesting in advanced nurse practice roles compared to other parts of New Zealand. "Te Whatu Ora needs to commit to building a sustainable and high-skilled home-grown nursing workforce by upskilling nurses and hiring graduate nurses." Marijke Cooper says NZNO is concerned that despite the review raising concerns about poor communication practices at Nelson Hospital, none of our delegates are aware of any staff being consulted on it.
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- Health
- NZ Herald
Taupō Hospital doctor, staff shortages spark closure contingency plans
Overnight, one senior doctor is on duty to take care of the department and ward. RNZ has obtained a copy of the Escalation and Closure Plan for Taupō Hospital, which outlines what could happen if the hospital were forced to shut down because of not finding enough staff. No closures have happened, and Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora's top manager for the area, regional deputy chief executive Cath Cronin, has told RNZ she wouldn't allow this and was instead focused on keeping the hospital open. But closures aren't unprecedented. Last year, Westport's hospital shut its doors several times because of short staffing. The plan's introduction outlines the gravity of a closure: 'Temporary closure of Taupō Hospital poses a potential risk to the population and, as such, Health NZ Lakes has a responsibility for managing the risk with a contingency plan, to safeguard the public to the best of its ability.' The plan The document said its purpose was to set out an agreed process when there weren't enough senior doctors to staff the hospital's emergency department. It said authority to consent to a closure sat with the regional deputy chief executive – Cronin – and 'every possible option for covering vacant roster shifts must be exhausted' before the plan was put into action. If closure were required, contingency measures would swing into action three days before the unstaffed shift, allowing time to tell the public and other affected parties. If the emergency department (ED) were to close, but some services continue, security would be stationed at the hospital entrance with a list of patients allowed inside. A February memo from senior clinical staff to management outlined further details. The senior staff cited upcoming vacancies and difficulties in getting locums. 'Consequently, we are unable to guarantee that the Taupō Hospital will be able to cover every shift in the ED or the inpatient ward. Therefore, we thought it prudent to have contingency options documented and agreed in advance, which could be employed if and when this situation arose.' Six scenarios The memo described possible situations in which the plan would be enacted. 'Although none of these scenarios are considered acceptable under normal circumstances, we may be forced to implement one or more of them to ensure continuation of service provision,' it said. Two scenarios involved using doctors from Rotorua to keep open Taupō's general ward, or its ward and emergency department. A third scenario suggested closing the Taupō general ward, which usually has about 15 patients. 'All inpatients requiring admission will be transferred to Rotorua, increasing the workload for Rotorua physicians and registrars/nurses.' Option four was to use telehealth for emergency department patients. Option five tabled closing the department, which sees an average of 50 patients a day. This would also potentially involve telehealth, but otherwise, emergency cases would have to travel to Rotorua. The memo said risks for this were: 'No access to emergency care for Taupō-Turangi communities. No on-site clinician for ward. No on-site support for birthing unit.' The sixth option was the status quo, with a reliance on locums. This was time-consuming to sort and expensive. Pressure building Emails released to RNZ show the hospital's battle to find staff. On May 15 last year, then clinical lead Jared Bayless said there were five emergency department shifts, including four overnight ones, unstaffed in the coming week. Another email from Bayless, a month later, discussed juggling staff to cover vacancies during the week, which stretched the weekend roster thinly. There was concern that the hospital would have to operate at decreased capacity. Bayless subsequently informed emergency services about the possible staff shortfall. In other messages, Bayless stated what would happen if staffing wasn't found to cover all shifts, options that the Escalation and Closure Plan covered. A draft memo to Cronin in October from Health NZ's Lakes district group director of operations, Alan Wilson, again talked about the possibility of closure when staff couldn't be found, and outlined the risks of this, including having to rely on an already under-pressure Rotorua Hospital. The memo said $1.29 million was spent on locums for Taupō Hospital in 2023-24. It recommended changing the staffing structure away from senior doctors working 24/7 and employing more doctors to allow for round-the-clock coverage. Cronin found out about the memo from doctor unions and emailed them to say she had concerns about the issues at Taupō Hospital's emergency department and how they'd been addressed. 'All discussions, planning or other communications regarding Taupō ED are now on hold.' Cronin also emailed Wilson expressing her disappointment about the memo's contents and that he let it happen. 'The proposed plan is not a direction I will endorse without further discussion, so don't progress any further planning or discussions with the team.' However, the Escalation and Closure Plan was circulated early this year in further emails. 'Not an active plan' Cronin told RNZ this week the Escalation and Closure Plan wasn't an 'active plan'. 'My approach is always to work on plans to keep hospitals open and EDs open,' she said. 'This wasn't an approach that I endorsed. It got a life of its own, with the team wanting to do the right thing but not in quite the right way. 'When I found out about it, I did stop that approach to making a plan to close the ED, and instead we reconvened to work together on how we keep our ED open.' Cronin said she'd never been asked to consider closure, as outlined in the plan, although it was challenging to fill shifts. 'But we always get there, one way or another,' she said. 'We always manage to cover that. We haven't had to close. 'We've got a particularly tough time in the next couple of months, not only in Taupō but across the whole country. 'We're getting right into the middle of winter, with lots of sick leave, but everyone's endeavouring to do what they can to maintain that access for patients.' There were plenty of other mitigations before closure would even be considered, Cronin said. 'We take that week by week when we plan, then day by day, or shift by shift if we need to.' Cronin said this year she met with Taupō's medical staff weekly and would regularly check in with the lead clinician. Asked about shifting patients to Rotorua if required, Cronin said moving patients to ensure they received the proper standard of care was something that happened nationwide. This week, there were 4.7 fulltime-equivalent senior doctor vacancies in Taupō, which would drop to 2.7 in October when two staff members joined. Two extra junior doctors had recently joined and one would soon start. Another two were due by January, which left two vacancies. Cronin said recruitment would focus on how Taupō was a great place to live and on the quality of the clinical team at the hospital. Plan a message to management Rural hospital medicine specialist Ralston D'Souza has just taken over as Taupō Hospital's clinical lead. He said the lack of permanent staffing at Taupō wasn't new, and he and the other clinicians developed plans in response. 'It's probably been known about for a couple of years,' D'Souza said. 'With that short staffing, there's going to be gaps in the normal, everyday roster. So, as a group, we were trying to [say] to management: 'Look, this is a risk to the organisation'. 'If permanent staff are unable to fill these gaps, if locums are unable to fill these shifts, we have to have a contingency plan on what we need to do. 'There's a huge amount of people affected in the hospital and in the community if there's no doctor in the hospital, so we wanted to get something on paper or get protocols in place if that were to occur because of the vulnerability of our workforce.' D'Souza said additional junior doctors were welcome, although it would take some time until they were trained to fill overnight shifts, with their varied responsibilities. But he was more hopeful than previously and he said Cronin was working closely with the hospital on staffing issues. Clinicians, management and the community were working together to find solutions, D'Souza said. Sarah Dalton, the executive director of the senior doctors' union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, said clinicians drawing up the Escalation and Closure Plan showed there weren't enough doctors to staff the hospital. 'Between 40 to 50 per cent of their roster at any given time is filled either by locums or their employed staff being prevailed upon to do extra shifts, so do extra work for extra pay to keep the place open.' She said the arrangements to fill the roster were 'hand-to-mouth, subsistence stuff'. Dalton criticised Health NZ for paying little attention to the wellbeing of permanent staff, while spending plenty on locums. Patient Voice Aotearoa's Malcolm Mulholland said the Escalation and Closure Plan showed how concerned clinicians were. 'It's pretty confronting seeing that plans have been drafted to actually shut down one of our hospitals in New Zealand, and to know that it serves a community of 40,000 people or more. 'It's extremely concerning.' Mulholland said the advocacy group held a public meeting in Taupō earlier this year, where he heard from clinicians' concerns about staff shortages and the prospect of patients transferring to Rotorua. It was planning to hold a further public meeting in the town on July 30 at 6pm, at Taupō's Hilltop School. – RNZ
RNZ News
17-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Homegrown health workers fill Taranaki gaps
New Plymouth Boys High School students heard from Tui Ora kaiārahi in primary care Lee O'Neill about a future in the health sector at one of Why Ora's workshops. Photo: LDR / SUPPLIED A 15-year effort to fill gaps in the Taranaki health workforce has almost doubled the proportion of Māori working for the region's public health service. As New Zealand struggles to attract doctors and nurses in a global shortage, and regions are forced to compete with the big cities for health workers, Taranaki has nurtured a homegrown response. Whakatipuranga Rima Rau (Generation 500) was set up in 2010 to attract 500 Māori into the region's health sector over a decade. Back then Māori were 6.6 percent of the workforce at Taranaki District Health Board. Photo: These days 11.3 percent of Taranaki staff are Māori at what's now Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ), which employs about half of the region's health workers. The Whakatipuranga Rima Rau trust didn't hit the target of 500 doctors, nurses, support workers and other health and disability staff within ten years, but its work continues under a new brand, Why Ora. Why Ora currently has 209 Māori registered as in health jobs in Taranaki, with a further 58 in tertiary study for health careers. Sixty-five senior high school students learned about hauora career possibilities at two recent workshops hosted by Tui Ora in New Plymouth and Ngāruahine Iwi Health Services in Manāia It was Why Ora's first time partnering with Māori service providers, with previous Rapuara Hauora (health careers) workshops held at Taranaki Base and Hawera Hospitals. Students got a look inside Māori health workplaces and hands-on learning with professionals. The tama got hands-on experience, including trying out exercises designed for kaumātua. Photo: LDR / SUPPLIED Why Ora kaiārahi (guide) Liahna Smith said taking an interactive approach inside kaupapa Māori spaces "made it so awesome for everyone involved". "The positivity about being Māori and working to serve whānau: 100 percent we would want to continue this approach in the future." Smith's boss, pou whakahaere (chief executive) Tanya Anaha, said it fortified Why Ora's determination to grow a strong, capable Māori health workforce. "This partnership not only gave our taiohi (teenagers) a valuable opportunity to explore the many career pathways into sustainable, high-income roles within the health sector, but also allowed our providers to showcase the incredible services they deliver to our communities." Tui Ora's kaumātua talked about the value of health and support services they receive, said facilitator Leanne Matuku. One elder had a mokopuna in the student group. "Now our kaumātua have seen the programme the vine is going to happen - whānau will be saying to each other 'why isn't your boy here?'" she said. Ngāruahine Iwi Health Services kaiwhakarite (manager) Warren Nicholls said Rapuara Hauora events opened up pathways to meaningful work for taiohi. "It's very rewarding to establish a whakapapa connection or linkage that offers taiohi a further sense of identity and belonging - and both humbling and a privilege to share ourselves and our insights, to support these taiohi in reaching their potential." The late Dame Tariana Turia launched Whakatipuranga Rima Rau while in coalition with National during John Key's premiership. As associate health minister, she said it was "the most impressive expression" of kotahitanga, whanaungatanga, kaitiakitanga and rangatiratanga (unity, relationship, stewardship and self-determination). "There is a wider vision yet - even more impressive than 500 jobs - and that is to create the expectation and indeed the reality that Taranaki will have a competent, skilled Maori health and disability workforce." Despite the doubled presence of tangata whenua in Te Whatu Ora's Taranaki workforce, that 11.3 percent would need to double again to match the Māori share of the region's population. Why Ora has expanded its indigenous career empowerment mahi to also help Māori onto other career paths, particularly education. - LDR is local body reporting co-funded by RNZ and NZ on Air
Scoop
17-07-2025
- Health
- Scoop
PSA Decries Closure Of Specialist Mental Health Facility Segar House
The PSA strongly objects to the decision released today to close Rauaroha - Segar House, a specialised mental health facility based in Auckland for some of New Zealand's most complex patients. "Despite the critical life-saving work done at Segar House, Health New Zealand has today announced its decision to shut this unique, much-needed service," Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi national secretary, Fleur Fitzsimons, says. "This is terrible news for staff, those who rely on the specialist support offered at Segar House and their loved ones. "We're calling on Health New Zealand and the government to reverse this decision and commit to properly funding Segar House. New Zealanders want - and deserve - public mental healthcare that serves everyone, even and especially those with complex needs." Segar House is a wrap-around service for mental health clients that incorporates several different kinds of therapies. Its emphasis on group work and positive social interaction is designed to help their patients re-integrate smoothly into normal life. "The team working at Segar House are devastated, they know this decision will have tragic consequences," Fitzsimons says. "Segar House has supported patients with highly complex health histories, with more than one diagnosed issue, as well as horrific early trauma well for many years. They can only come to Segar House when they've already exhausted all other options - it's the last option for these mental health patients. Te Whatu Ora first proposed closing Segar House in April this year, saying the facility was under-utilised. In response, staff criticised Te Whatu Ora's referral rules as overly restrictive. After pressure from the clinical team last year, Segar House trialled working with Primary Care Liaison teams to drop the barrier for admission and had good results with an increase in clients getting access to their intensive treatment. The PSA is also seeking legal advice following more recent revelations that Te Whatu Ora considered not renewing the Segar House lease last year, months before the closure proposal was tabled. Nearly 3000 people have signed a . The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand's largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.
