Recruiting drive for nurses to give shots

By AINSLEY THOMSON

A recruiting drive is under way to hire nurses and support staff needed to give the meningococcal vaccination to 150,000 children.

On Monday the programme starts in south and east Auckland and more than 100 registered nurses are needed to give schoolchildren their three injections.

Additional nurses are also needed to help GPs to administer the vaccine to children under 5 or teenagers who have left school, and support and administrative staff are being hired.

All this has meant a major recruiting drive for the Counties Manukau District Health Board.

South and east Auckland are the first places the vaccine is being given because they have the highest rates of the disease, which, since 1991, has killed 220 New Zealanders - 80 per cent of them children - and maimed hundreds more.

Kidz First public health co-ordinator Natalie Dawson said there were 36 public health nurses already employed and so far 52 nurses had been recruited. A further 15 nurses were needed.

There had been a lot of applications. "We were just amazed. I think people saw this as something really positive they could do."

The nurses were employed on fixed-term contracts until the end of the year, but it was likely many would transfer to other district health boards when they began their vaccination programmes.

Nurses would undergo a week's orientation and would need a vaccination certificate.

Sue Miller, meningococcal programme manager at the health board, said work was being done to find out how many nurses would be needed to help GPs.

"What we are trying to do is help GPs with the recruitment process, sourcing of the nurses, interviewing and helping with their administrative tasks."

While the campaign started on Monday, the actual vaccinations would not be given in schools until August 2, she said.

She was confident all the necessary nurses would have been hired by then. About 20 support and administrative staff would also be hired to help the nurses with the lengthy vaccination process.

"There are a number of activities from the time children come from the classroom until they get the vaccination. We try to create a friendly, low-stress, low-intensity environment. The children are met, then their consent forms are pulled out.

"Then a nurse does what we call a triage process, so if a child is unwell or fearful or there is conflicting information on the consent form, we don't automatically vaccinate. There is quite a process."

THE M WORD: The numbers

All relate to stage one of the programme, in south and east Auckland.

104 nurses giving the vaccination.

450,000 vials of the vaccine will be given.

100,000 consent forms are being sent out to parents.

150,000 people will be vaccinated.

228 schools will be involved.

85,540 translated inserts for the consent forms in various languages.

4500 envelopes to hold returned consent forms.

32,000 6-page foldout information leaflets.

42,500 translated versions of the info leaflets.

150 flip charts to use in educating people.

1600 teacher packs to use in educating children.

6000 16-page information booklets.

330,000 post-vaccination forms.

256,630 translated versions of the post-vaccination forms.

1360 posters.

150 operating manuals for nurses.