I love the opportunity each New Year provides for reflection. This year is no different as I find myself pondering on the usual topics - health, finances, family, global concerns etc. This year however, my reflections, and that of the NPANZ team, extend to how we can support our nurses and carers and see improvements to public health services in New Zealand.
I will admit to getting side-tracked and exploring the possibility of an automatic update at 12 midnight on the 31st December, resulting in nurses all over the world being able to work safely and meaningfully, supporting universal free healthcare, accessible to all, based on need. Alas, and despite my day-dreaming, there will be no 'Cinderella' moment and instead it falls on us individually and as a Union and Professional Nurses Association to manage those concerns that interfere with quality care and timely services.
Last year, and despite an historic pay equity claim for Te Whatu Ora nurses, we witnessed ongoing inequity for nurses and carers in aged care and primary health care specifically. Most of us experienced the effects of chronic workforce shortages either as clinicians or as patients. Some were subject to the continued systemic bullying that pervades our workplaces especially where prejudice still exists around the covid-19 vaccine. Issues relating to the recruitment and retention of student nurses meant many were unable to complete their training and left before they could qualify. The health system, supported by high numbers of overseas trained nurses, struggled to cope with an aging population and complex health demands; many nurses feeling unsupported, simply walked away.
As NPANZ grows, our first responsibility will always be to our members. Our wider objectives however are to lobby and campaign for change that will give us our 'Cinderella moment' and 'return the heart to nursing'.
We will be submitting to the Royal Commission of Inquiry (2023) to look at lessons learned from New Zealand’s response to Covid-19 and await the revised/extended Public Inquiry proposed by the Coalition Government. We hope the extended inquiry is able to bring some respite for the hundreds of nurses still unemployed due to the mandates and wary of returning to a system they feel they can no longer trust.
The Nursing Council is seeking views on proposed changes to the competencies for Enrolled Nurses and Registered Nurses, and amendments to the RN scope of practice. We invite members to comment via NPANZ or individually. This is a great opportunity to comment and ensure that nurses and nursing remains fit for purpose especially considering the challenges that the Covid era brought in relation to professional accountability, informed consent and independent opinion.
We will continue to campaign for 'care closer to home' with an end to inequity based on postcode or other socially constructed phenomenon. Preferring care based on need, we challenge the coalition government to do the unthinkable and trust local clinicians and communities to take responsibility for service delivery and governance of their own health whilst aiming to avoid being the proverbial ambulance at the bottom of the cliff by investing in health education and health promotion for all New Zealanders.
I have no doubt I will be reflecting on similar issues come New Year's Eve 2025. For now, however, we aim high and do what we can to improve conditions for our nurses thereby improving health outcomes for the average New Zealander.
Happy New Year, Happy Dreaming
Deborah Cunliffe
NPANZ President