Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
The health minister has made it clear she expects Te Whatu Ora to have a plan in place for winter, when demand on the healthcare system are set to increase.
Dr Ayesha Verrall met with healthcare workers at Wellington Children's Hospital on Wednesday morning, to mark the rollout of new pay equity rates and lump sum payments for nurses.
Verrall said it put New Zealand nurses on par, dollar for dollar, with their Australian counterparts.
Nurses across the country received a bump in pay this week, thanks to payments of up to $10,000 (depending on each nurse's salary) ordered by the Employment Relations Authority (ERA).
In March 2022, former district health boards reached an agreement on a pay equity deal worth $540 million. Although further disagreement arose, the ERA ruled Te Whatu Ora should make interim payments to nurses while awaiting a final result.
Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall met with healthcare workers at Wellington Children's Hospital this morning. Photo: RNZ / Kate Green
A pay equity agreement had also been reached with administration and clerical workers employed by Te Whatu Ora, and separate processes were underway for midwives and allied public health and technical staff.
It follows a years-long struggle by healthcare staff for better pay and working conditions, and comes amid ongoing systematic issues such as overcrowded emergency departments (EDs) and a lack of workers.
On Monday night, six ambulances were turned away from Auckland City Hospital because the ED was too full. In Wellington, the nurses who met with the minister told a similar story.
Pediatric nurse Mel Anderson said at one point there were 108 patients waiting for 38 beds, and on the wards, beds were filled by people waiting to go to rest homes where there were no spaces either.
The workforce was still short more than 400 nurses and hygiene workers in the Capital and Coast area alone.
While nurses were pleased to be getting the pay packet, they would also like to see backpay to 2019, she said.
Verrall said fixing the health system started earlier than taking care of current staff.
"We want to get to a position where we're having more of our vacancies filled by domestically trained nurses, and that means making sure that nursing is an attractive career, where it's got fair pay," Verrall said.
Anderson agreed. "Pay's one thing, but it's also attracting people."
There were concerningly few graduates entering the profession, she said.
"Massey University this year attracted only 100 new grads, and 40 percent of them usually leave, so in three years time, only 60 nurses may graduate from that. Midwifery at Victoria University has only recruited six."
Pay rates at a glance
- Newly qualified registered nurses will start work in a public hospital on $66,570 a year before overtime and allowances, up from $49,449 a year in 2017
- Experienced nurses will be on a basic pay rate of up to $95,340 before overtime and allowances, up from $66,755 in 2017
