NZNO's Blog

Monthly Archives: April 2014


by 3 Comments

Nelson ED nurses get together to create change

successNZNO members at Nelson Hospital have had their voices heard. They have successfully advocated for quality patient care and a safe environment for staff.

ED staff have been concerned for some time that their work is being compromised by a lack of staff, and all the flow on effects of that situation.

Reportable events about staffing levels had been logged but no action taken. NZNO College of Emergency Nurses guidelines for nurse/ patient ratios were not being met and nursing staff were concerned about the potential for breaches of the Health and Disability Commission code of patient rights.

The ED was experiencing an increased number of high acuity patients and Government targets were not being met. Staff vacancies were not being filled in a timely way and staff were worried that more vacancies were coming up. Annual leave requests were being turned down and staff were becoming more and more stressed and fatigued. They were overworked and overwhelmed.

It’s pretty hard on morale if you work in an emergency department and you don’t have the resources to deal with an emergency!

It’s often difficult to see the wood for the trees when you’re feeling like that, so it is a testament to the courage and wisdom of NZNO members that they made a decision to do something about it, and then followed through.

A meeting with the Director of Nursing and Midwifery and the Nelson Associate Director of Nursing was called and members told their stories one by one. It was a powerful and moving meeting. Staff were honest, passionate and resolute that the situation needed to change. That was 2 weeks ago.

Within 2 days the numbers had been crunched and ED staff were notified that an extra 2.14FTE had been approved and were being advertised. In the interim, casual staff are being used to ease the workload.

It’s a great outcome, and one that only happened because NZNO members worked collectively to address their concerns. When we stand together we are heard.

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi. Engari, he toa takitini.

Success is not the work of one, but the work of many.

 


by 7 Comments

The personal cost of government failings

woman sillhouette

A new grad nurse talks about what it’s really like to be failed by the system. After not receiving a NETP position after graduating this new grad did volunteer work to keep up her skills. Recently she got a part time position as an “emergency response attendant” at a retirement village.

I am happy to share my story. What I want most out of this is for other people to feel brave enough to speak out. And for the government to come to the party and provide new grad nurses with the job opportunities and Nursing Entry to Practice (NETP) positions that they require.

I suppose my biggest gripe is that I was never ever told throughout my degree that there were limited NETP positions and so, along with my friends, I had the attitude that I would get a NETP position.

The last year of my degree was tailored around paediatrics, where I was totally in my element, working in the area I am so passionate about and the reason I chose nursing as my career.

I am well aware that New Zealand has an experienced nursing shortage… but I feel that the answer to that is to support those new grads who trained in NZ to get NETP positions and then there will be more experienced nurses.

I am no politician, but I’m sure there are better solutions to this situation.

I feel pretty devastated to hear about NZ saying we are short on nurses when there are hundreds just like me.

I know I am lucky to have the job at the retirement village after months of unemployment but I also know it’s not what I trained to do.

I have dreams of working as a registered nurse with children and their families with full support from other nurses and clinical preceptors.

New grads like me are being forced into unsuitable jobs and, although we apparently have a nursing shortage, at each of the six extra interviews I had after my ACE interviews in November, I was unsuccessful due to more experienced nurses applying for the same position.

So while I reapply for ACE and hope and pray that I am successful, I will keep trying to find answers to a situation I now do not understand at all. There really isn’t much to say about it except that it’s unfair on so many levels.

I just hope through my voice I can help other new grads and nursing students because I would never wish for anyone else to experience the amount of disappointment I have in the last six months.


by 22 Comments

It’s not a skill shortage, it’s a planning deficiency

600px-New_Zealand_on_the_globe_(New_Zealand_centered).svgThe Immigration Department’s “Skill-shortage list” is a list of occupations that are in short supply in New Zealand. The list means that would-be migrants with those particular skills are given preference over migrants whose skills are not on the list. It seems like a great idea and a good way to ensure that New Zealand’s skills needs are met.

Unfortunately, it is sometimes used for the benefit of employers, not the NZ workforce as a whole.

NZNO is constantly responding to consultation requests from Immigration NZ as DHBs and other health providers, especially within the aged care sector, push for nursing and health care assistant roles to be added to the skills shortage list.

Recently, Hawkes Bay DHB, Southern DHB and Capital and Coast DHB have all applied to have registered nurse and midwife positions added to the skills shortage list, and to renew their accredited employer status so they can fast track offshore recruitment of nurses and midwives.

We absolutely reject that the DHBs need to recruit nurses and midwives offshore while there are large numbers of nursing and midwifery graduates still seeking employment.

As a country we need to start addressing the root causes of recruitment and retention difficulties and plan for a sustainable, home grown workforce.

It is not fair that we continue to educate and train nurses and then deny them employment while continuing to recruit offshore. Only 61 percent of last year’s nursing graduates have found placements in nurse entry to practice positions and only half of the country’s DHBs are offering placements in the second advanced choice of employment (ACE) round.

Overseas recruitment processes are long and expensive and often include a six week competence assessment programme. Surely, that time and money would be better spent on supporting new graduates into practice, and facilitating internal appointments with training and education that supports expanded practice and rewarding career pathways for nurses and midwives.

NZNO recognises that demand for nurses is increasing, as New Zealand’s population and the nursing workforce ages, but recruiting from overseas to fill workforce gaps is not the answer.


by 6 Comments

Don’t sign our future away!

TPPA311Last weekend Trade Minister, Tim Groser accused NZNO and others of being less than truthful when we say New Zealanders are not being consulted about the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement (TPPA), which is currently being negotiated in secret.

He said, in a RadioNZ interview, “There’ve been more discussions with stakeholders on this agreement by a country mile than any trade agreement I’ve been associated with negotiating in New Zealand in the past 30 years, it’s just that these are people taking a very, very politicised view of the matter.”

He then went on to assure New Zealanders that they would hear the facts when the deal was put before Parliament.

Sadly, he neglected to say that when the deal does finally “get to Parliament’ it will be waaaay too late to do anything about it. In fact, Parliament itself is not even able to do anything about it.

Professor Jane Kelsey explains, “Parliament’s role in treaty making is largely symbolic. It has no power to decide whether or not the TPPA should be signed or ratified and no ability to change its terms TPPA or require it to be renegotiated. The select committee process is a farcical exercise because its members know they cannot change the treaty.”

And as for those purported consultations… a few private briefings of selected health representatives does not qualify as transparent, informed public debate.

Why is the content of the TPPA a secret to New Zealand stakeholders? We expect transparency and the protection of public health as a key pillar of our social democracy. ‘Commercial sensitivity’ does not justify blanket secrecy where publicly funded health is at stake; especially when, unlike New Zealand citizens, US trade lobbyists have access to the ‘secret’ text.

We do know some things about what is being negotiated – I blogged about it here and it’s not good news.

Most governments, and it seems that ours is likely to be one, will be deterred from public health regulation because they’re scared of being sued by big business, though a few have refused to be intimidated. Australia went ahead with its plain packaging of tobacco products and is staunchly defending its right to do so against three investor challenges, at a cost of many millions of dollars. Disappointingly, New Zealand reacted by delaying its plain packaging legislation, leaving Australia to defend this important public health decision alone.

This agreement was initiated before the global financial crisis in 2008 and both the economic climate and the public’s willingness to accept deregulated markets allowing unbridled corporate growth have changed a lot since then. People are aware that while there have been tremendous gains as a result of new health technologies and medicines, the benefits have not been shared equally. Inequility is increasing globally, regionally and within New Zealand. The TPPA has the potential to exacerbate that inequity if the growth and innovation it promises increases the costs of health care as has been suggested.

Come on Minister Groser – release the text, release publicly commissioned information and analysis, and give New Zealanders a say in what you’re signing us up to.

 


by 1 Comment

A win-win-win solution to dealing with domestic violence

NZNO_Union_poster_finalTwo great things happened yesterday that have the potential to eliminate some of the harm caused by domestic violence.

The PSA launched a piece of research that shows how much domestic violence costs business, and Green MP Jan Logie launched a bill that entitles victims of domestic violence to be supported at work.

The PSA research shows that domestic violence costs businesses a conservatively estimated $368 million per year. The author of the research, Suzanne Snively said at the launch that domestic violence impacts greatly on businesses right around the country.

Victims of domestic violence are often stalked and abused at work, and what’s happening to them and their children at home means that they just can’t work as productively as they would if they were living free of fear and violence. She said that if businesses supported their employees to deal with domestic violence, there would be significant savings to be made by reducing recruitment and induction costs and by raising productivity.

Jan Logie said at the launch of her Bill that victims of domestic violence often lose their jobs because they may not be able to focus on their work, are unable to show up to work, or are stalked by their abusers while at work. Her Bill would work by allowing any employee, no matter where they work or what they do, to take leave to keep themselves and their children safe.

Being able to stay in employment while they find safety for themselves and their children is important for victims. And for employers, supporting workers to become safe and violence free has a positive impact on workplace culture as well as dollar returns from increased productivity and decreased staff turnover.

Jan Logie’s Bill will make four main changes. It will:

  •          protect victims from discrimination on the basis of domestic violence,
  •          allow victims of domestic violence to request flexible working arrangements from their employer if needed,
  •          allow victims of domestic violence to take up to 10 days leave a year related to the violence, and
  •          clarify that domestic violence is a hazard in the workplace that needs to be managed like other hazards.

As Jan Logie said, the Bill is a win win win situation! It’s a win for victims of domestic violence, it’s a win for our society and it’s a win for businesses.

Here at NZNO, we know that with 93 percent of our 46000 members being women, thousands of us will experience domestic violence sometime in our lives, and that some will be experiencing it right now.  Others will be witnessing its negative impact on health in their everyday practice.

We are committed to supporting any initiative that will make working life better for our members.   We are committed to improving the health and well being of society and its citizens.  We commend the PSA and Jan Logie for their work to make our society safer and more tolerant.

 

Productivity Gains from Workplace Protection of Victims of Domestic Violence by Suzanne Snively ONZM

http://www.psa.org.nz/Libraries/Documents_2014/Workplace_Productivity_Improvements_for_DV_21_May_2014.sflb.ashx

Jan Logie’s Domestic Violence-Victims’ Protection Bill

https://www.greens.org.nz/bills/domestic-violence-victims-protection-bill    

If you are experiencing domestic violence or want to find out how you can support a friend or family member who is, check out the Women’s Refuge website: www.womensrefuge.org.nz

The Family violence: It’s not ok campaign has heaps of information too, and resources you can use at work and home: http://www.areyouok.org.nz/

The poster above features NZNO men making a stand against family violence. Thank you Kieran Monaghan, Simon Hathaway and Gary Swift.