Health New Zealand Announces 380 Additional Healthcare Roles, Majority for Nurses

Health New Zealand has announced 380 additional healthcare roles for the current financial year, with nurses expected to make up the majority of the new positions. The roles will cover nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants, with recruitment starting immediately. The announcement comes after a winter of high demand across New Zealand hospitals, particularly in emergency departments and inpatient services.

National Chief Nurse Nadine Gray said the new staff will be placed in areas where they are most needed. The additional roles are spread across the country, with 149 positions in the South Island, 120 in the Northern region, 76 in the Central region and 32 in the Midland region. Another 94 positions will be added to emergency departments, most of them for nurses. Health New Zealand has not said exactly how many of the 380 roles will be nursing positions.

The new positions are being added as Health New Zealand looks again at how it decides how many nurses are needed. For about 20 years, the organisation has used a system known as Care Capacity Demand Management, or CCDM, to help set nursing numbers. An independent review found problems with the quality and consistency of the information used by the system. It also found that the approach does not work well for every type of health service.

Health New Zealand is now considering other ways to set staffing levels. One option is nurse-to-patient ratios, which set a minimum number of nurses for a given number of patients. The organisation is also looking at other staffing models because different services may need different approaches. However, no decision has been made to introduce nurse-to-patient ratios in New Zealand. A business case is being developed, with work expected to continue into 2027.

The announcement has also drawn criticism from nursing representatives. The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) welcomed the recognition of staffing pressure but said the additional positions were not enough to address the wider problems facing nurses. Other union representatives have also pointed to ongoing vacancies and pressure on health workers. Emergency nurses have questioned whether the additional positions will be enough to ease the pressure in busy departments.

For nurses considering New Zealand, the announcement shows that Health New Zealand is continuing to add staff across its health services. However, the 380 positions should not be understood as 380 nursing vacancies for overseas applicants. The announcement covers three groups of healthcare workers, and Health New Zealand has not confirmed how many of the nursing positions, if any, will be filled through international recruitment.

Source : https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/health/1572083/health-nz-to-hire-380-extra-staff-majority-will-be-nurses