A veteran nurse who quit after last month’s strikes says doing so saved her life.
Amanda Homewood had spent most of her near 40-year nursing career working at different DHBs. She quit the day after the nationwide strike in June and says more nurses will follow if pay and conditions don’t improve.
“I see it as I've saved a life and this time it's mine...so I'm not sad,” she said.
“I’ve really found the cost to me and my family became too much to bear…I’m feeling absolutely great. I don’t regret leaving nursing, I don’t consider myself to be a potential returnee at any time.”
She says she left for a combination of reasons, including low pay, constant issues with staffing and extra responsibilities that took her away from patient care.
“I think it’s madness that safe conditions for nurses, which are safe conditions for patients as well as nurses have become part of pay deals. That is quite bizarre to me.”
She says she supports the three strikes that are planned for July, August and September.
“I do know heaps of people are wanting to leave nursing, some people are trapped. You only have to look at the nursing pages on Facebook to see there are heaps going to Australia.”
DHBs and the New Zealand Nurses Organisation agree the strikes could be avoided if a deal is reached. DHBs spokesperson Jim Green says with more negotiations planned for this week and next, good progress is being made.
“Because we haven't received the strike notice yet the ideal will be that the strike notice wouldn't be issued and we can move on forward and then resolve things from that point onward as well.”
NZNO industrial services manager Glenda Alexander says the strikes will only be called off if there’s a “really good offer” put forward.
“We haven’t achieved the outcomes from the negotiations that we hoped to. This is symptomatic of our members determination that we're not just going to roll over this time, we are determined that we're going to get an outcome that meets our needs.”
“It’s very frustrating. Our members are quite angry about the situation but they're also tired and exhausted.”
The NZNO estimates there's at least 1500 nursing vacancies nationwide, but the real figure could be much higher. It says our nursing workforce is aging, and there’s concern we won’t be able to replace those who are leaving fast enough to serve our growing population.
“There’s over 600 gaps in Auckland DHB alone so that speaks to the numbers across the country that are missing,” Anderson said.
Health Minister Andrew Little says 43 per cent of non-citizens coming across the border are healthcare workers, and he believes the other gaps can be filled with New Zealanders.
“We have a large number of New Zealanders with nurse practicing certificates who aren't working as nurses. I think we can fill a lot of those gaps with people who are already in New Zealand.”
Homewood says while she won’t be drawn back, she’ll be marching in solidarity with her former colleagues if the next lot of strikes go ahead.
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