Bay of Plenty nurse calls for more pay and resources for ‘burnt-out’ workforce

Bay of Plenty clinical nurse specialist for Māori children Tracy Black changed roles from a frontline ward nurse last year. Photo / Supplied

A “tired” and “burnt-out” nursing workforce needs more pay and resources ahead of winter, a Bay of Plenty nurse says.

Tracy Black, who works at a Te Whatu Ora Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty hospital, said she changed from a frontline ward nurse to a specialist nurse last year because it was getting “too much” for her own and her family’s health.

“If we want a health system that’s working better, pay the nurses properly.”

It comes as the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) says hospitals around the country are struggling with a lack of nurses.

However, Te Whatu Ora says the nursing workforce has increased over recent years and most nurses had received a rise in their pay recently.

Black, who is an NZNO representative and a clinical nurse specialist for Māori children, said her new role was “fabulous” and her health was now “a lot better”.

“But I do look to the wards and I see my colleagues ... they’re tired, they’re burnt out.

In her opinion: “Our workforce has been, quite frankly, used and abused for many years.

“The biggest thing is we don’t have the workforce ... We’re not able to train the workforce fast enough. Why? Because who wants to come into nursing when you’re not paid properly?”

A letter sent to NZNO members from chief executive Paul Goulter on September 28 showed the 2019 pay rates released to members in the proposed agreement and the newly filed rates as of September 2022, which the union aimed to have fixed by the Employment Relations Authority.

The 2019 rate for an enrolled nurse was between $71,460 and $89,876. The union was seeking a rate of between $74,632 and $95,375.

The 2019 rate for a registered nurse was between $76,973 and $104,467. The union was seeking a rate of between $83,423 and $110,917.

As a union representative, Black wanted to see these rates fixed.

She said most nurses did not do the job for the money, but for “the love of our people”.

“We come into it to make a change. But the frontline nurses are tired, we’re constantly having to pick up shifts because our colleagues have gone to greener pastures on the other side ... in Australia. So we’re having to plug our own gaps.”

With winter coming, Black said sicknesses would be affecting staff and patients.

“Our immune systems, our bodies, we’ve already taken a hit with the multiple natural disasters, Covid ... it’s not going to take much to make a lot of the staff sick.

“If we don’t turn up to work, what is the back-up plan?”

Goulter said hospitals nationwide were struggling with the shortage of nurses.

“We’re, as NZNO, really concerned about this forthcoming winter. We felt it was a disaster last winter and I don’t see this being any better.

“Covid hasn’t gone away. We’ve got high levels of sickness still, which can only accelerate during that time.”

The Ministry of Health reported 429 new Covid-19 cases in the Bay of Plenty region and 239 new cases in the Lakes district for the week ending March 26.

Goulter said the staffing crisis “isn’t going away any time soon”.

The nurses’ union believed there was “too much time and effort and money” going into health system reforms. “We want to see that money go to the front line, to nurses.”

Asked how many more nurses the Bay of Plenty needed, NZNO kaiwhakahaere [manager] Kerri Nuku said it was difficult to put a number on it because there were lots of factors to consider, including how many of the workforce were part-time, full-time and casual, and their experience.

Hospitals nationwide are struggling with a lack of nurses, the union says. Photo / Stock

Te Whatu Ora Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty chief nursing officer Rosalind Jackson said healthcare was an extremely busy and demanding profession, “but the safety of our patients and staff is always our top priority”.

Jackson said she was “proud” of her hardworking teams and, while some staff were asked to work additional hours or shifts, this was always done by agreement.

“Our staff have worked through Covid and staffing shortage pressures at a particularly busy time. Their commitment and professionalism is never undervalued or taken for granted.”

An online wellness service encouraged employees to stay healthy physically and mentally and increased pay agreements were coming into effect, she said.

“Most of our nurses will have experienced an uplift in their pay recently. We have also increased the nursing workforce over recent years.”

Data provided in response to the concerns raised showed there were 1795 nurses in the Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty district in 2023, compared with 1730 in 2022, 1593 in 2021 and 1506 in 2020.

“New Zealand is experiencing significant workforce pressures across the health system and all efforts are being made to boost and build a sustainable health workforce, in what continues to be a challenging environment,” Jackson said.

“Addressing workforce shortages across the health sector is our priority, with a focus on both international recruitment and on growing the domestic workforce.”

Health minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said in a media release on March 8 that interim equity payments for nurses were being completed across the country.

“This provides salaries competitive with Australia and reinforces this Government’s commitment to improving pay, at a time when we’re taking additional action around the cost of living, and reducing economic pressures on ordinary Kiwis.”

She said a large proportion of registered nurses were receiving an increase in base pay of about $12,000, or 14 per cent.

In March 2022, former district health boards reached an agreement in principle on a pay equity deal worth $540 million.

“Although further litigation has arisen, it was sensible that the Employment Relations Authority allowed Te Whatu Ora the ability to make interim pay equity payments while awaiting a final result,” Verrall said.

“This means nurses are able to have that extra money in their pockets right now.”

The interim payments have been paid while the Employment Relations Authority works through the legal process to fix the rates.

In a media statement yesterday, Verrall said more than 8000 community nurses would start receiving “well-deserved pay rises” of up to 15 per cent over the next month as part of a $200m-a-year Government initiative.

“The Government is committed to ensuring nurses are paid fairly and will receive parity with others doing the same or similar work, especially given the current cost of living pressure faced by workers and their families. This is a substantial step towards that.”

Yesterday it was announced about 1600 Health New Zealand backroom staff could “potentially” lose their jobs in an attempt to strengthen the frontline workforce.

Te Whatu Ora had inherited more than 270 “tier 2″ executive leaders from the previous 29 district health boards and was considering proposals to “streamline teams” that provide corporate or back-office roles.

Each consultation is set to run for four weeks and decisions on new structures were expected to start being finalised in early June.