KEY POINTS:
The shortage of nurses in New Zealand is heading for crisis levels, due to an ageing workforce and graduates being poached for overseas work, a nursing workforce researcher says.
Annette Huntington, from Massey's School of Health Sciences, said with the average age of nurses at 45, many were approaching retirement.
Compounding the problem was Australia aggressively recruiting from New Zealand, with more than 900 nurses heading there in 2003 -- the most recent year for which figures are available.
The issue was a global one, Dr Huntington said. "New Zealand nurses are very desirable on the international market," she said. "New Zealand will continue to lose its qualified nurses to countries with stronger economies and better pay and conditions."
Dr Huntington said the country's 45,000 registered nurses made up about 60 per cent of New Zealand's health workforce.
Just over half work in district health boards, with the rest in areas such as aged care, primary care, Maori health providers, the prison services, defence and private hospitals, she said.
"Although pay has improved for nurses working in DHBs (district health boards), it has lagged behind for other nurses.
"We have a small window of opportunity to address the issues before the shortage becomes acute."
Dr Huntington said researchers from the School of Health Sciences were tracking nurses' health, wellbeing and patterns of workforce participation using on-line questionnaires.
The study was to establish a database to improve workforce policy and planning, with the aim of encouraging the recruitment and retention of New Zealand nurses.
"Accurate data is essential for the planning and management of the nursing workforce if this pressure is not to overwhelm our health services," Dr Huntington said.
- NZPA
