Welcome to the College of Nurses Aotearoa News Update.
No. 536, Wednesday 24 March 2021
Weekly news round-up of nursing and health information in New Zealand and internationally
NATIONAL NEWS
Concern over loss of services as nurses are drafted in to help Covid-19 vaccination roll-out
School nurses in some areas of New Zealand are being diverted from their students to work for the Covid-19 vaccination programme – triggering fears of unintended pregnancies, more sexually transmitted diseases and untreated mental health conditions.
Otago Polytechnic School of Nursing hosts international nurses
Entitled to enter New Zealand as critical health workers, they are completing an eight-week programme at Otago Polytechnic to complete the ...
Nurse keen for placement after 'difficult' journey
Leaving her husband and 1-year-old son at home has been at times agonising.
But Anjana Maria is thankful to be in New Zealand and keen to get to work in Dunedin.
Taranaki flight nurse clocks up 1000 patient transfers
Flight nurse Hamish Hardy nurse has clocked up 1000 patient transfers in double quick time - in just five busy years aboard the Taranaki Air Ambulance
Waitemata DHB is set to hire 100 new nurses
The biggest DHB in the country is embarking on its biggest recruitment drive ever, seeking 100 new nurses before the end of June.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Nurses could face regulatory action for spreading COVID-19 anti-vaccination claims
Nurses and other registered health practitioners could be stripped of their ability to practise for promoting COVID-19 anti-vaccination claims that seek to undermine the national vaccine rollout.
CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Family Court judge orders pre-schooler to be vaccinated despite father's objections
A 4-year-old girl will be vaccinated without her father's approval after a ruling handed down from the Family Court.
Prevalence of teenage depression more than doubled since the 1980s - study
The prevalence of teenage depression in New Zealand has more than doubled since the 1980s, a new University of Otago-led study reveals.
COVID-19 / CORONAVIRUS
Rural health workers declining Covid-19 vaccine due to 'hours of travel'
Some rural doctors and nurses and frontline health workers are turning down their chance of a Covid vaccine because they would have to take hours out of their busy day to get one.
Prisoners among the 1.7 million people to get Covid-19 vaccine from May
Prisoners will be among the 1.7 million people to receive early access to the Covid-19 vaccine, due to concern that Covid-19 can spread quickly through prisons.
Covid-19: Nurses union calls for Govt to establish vaccine programme for Pasifika
The Pacific nursing section of the nurses union says the Government needs a special Covid-19 vaccination programme for Pasifika, while urging the community to accept the vaccine.
Extra support for Pacific health providers to vaccinate
The New Zealand Government is providing a funding boost to Pacific health providers to assist them with the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Pacific communities.
Battle to spread truth about Covid-19 vaccine in Pacific communities
The race is on to reach Pasifika communities to counter the spread of misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine.
Covid 19 coronavirus: Misplaced fears over risks big factor in vaccine unease
Misplaced worries over vaccine risks in general might help explain why a quarter of Kiwis are unsure about receiving the Covid-19 shot, a new study finds. Read more
COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine: Concerns there won't be enough staff trained for the wider vaccine rollout
New Zealand is due to start the mammoth task of vaccinating the wider ... NZ Nurses Organisation spokesperson Kate Weston says there are a few ...
Covid-19 vaccine: Concerns over future uptake in rural areas
The government is being encouraged to think outside the box when rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine into rural communities.
Covid-19: Officials ponder options for border workers refusing vaccine
Employers and unions are in talks with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to work out how to manage border workers who refuse a Covid-19 vaccine.
Covid-19: New online tool shows people when they're likely to be vaccinated
An online tool which can help New Zealanders figure out which vaccination group they’re in has been released.
Substantially higher burden of COVID-19 compared to flu, new research shows
A new study compares the impact of COVID-19 on patients and hospital resources versus the impact of influenza.
DHBS
Clinical safety a top priority for new SDHB chair
New Southern District Health Board chair Pete Hodgson makes no bones about the fact that there’s no shortage of challenges facing the board, but some of them require urgency, he says.
Waitemata DHB appoints Dr Josephine Aumea Herman as Director of Pacific Health
Former Secretary for Te Marae Ora Cook Islands Ministry of Health Dr Josephine Aumea Herman has been appointed Director of Pacific Health at WaitematÄ DHB.
Hundreds of surgeries postponed due to staffing issues at Wellington Regional Hospital
Hundreds of planned surgeries had to be postponed this year because Wellington Regional Hospital did not have enough anaesthetists, with the local health authorities warning shortages remain.
DIABETES
Calls for urgency to address 'avalanche of diabetes' among Pacific community
The enthusiasm the Government has shown to combat the Covid-19 pandemic is needed to fight the current diabetes crisis, a senior Pacific doctor says.
EMERGENCY HEALTH CARE
Emergency departments in 'crisis': Long, painful waits for patients, staff burnt out
A woman who went to Christchurch Hospital’s emergency department (ED) in excruciating pain after a man tripped and fell on her, had to wait almost 10 hours to learn her knee was not broken.
PUBLIC HEALTH
Water fluoridation: Govt proposes law change giving fluoridation decisions to director-general of Health
The Government is proposing a law change giving director-general of Health Ashley Bloomfield oversight for all decisions on fluoridating water supplies.
WOMENS’ HEALTH
Cost barriers for smear tests and birth control 'disgusting for women's health'
New limits on free cervical screening, contraception and physiotherapy will result in more unintended pregnancies, chronic pain and missed pre-cancer diagnoses, Christchurch health professionals say.
New Waikato Hospital training course to expand endometriosis care
Waikato Hospital’s Women’s Health Service is establishing a Gynaecological Centre of Excellence which aims to improve the care and wellbeing of women across the Midland region.
CONSULTATION
18 Mar 2021 - Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill
Public submissions are now being invited on this Bill
REPORTS AND NEW PUBLICATIONS
Mā Te Rongo Ake / Through Listening and Hearing
A report from the Initial Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission to the Minister of Health
Mā Te Rongo Ake is a report from the Initial Commission that assesses progress of the Government’s response to He Ara Oranga, the inquiry into mental health and addiction, addresses the question: “how is system transformation progressing?”, and asks:
- what progress is government making in its response to He Ara Oranga?
- is progress happening fast enough (and how much further is there to go)?
- what areas need further focus or priority?
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
Towards a better understanding of the relationship between feedback and nurses’ work engagement and burnout: A convergent mixed-methods study on nurses’ attributions about the ‘why’ of feedback,
A.P.M. (Suzanne) Giesbers, Roel L.J. Schouteten, Erik Poutsma, Beatrice I.J.M. van der Heijden, Theo van Achterberg,
International Journal of Nursing Studies, Volume 117, 2021, 103889,
ISSN 0020-7489, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.103889.
Previous studies on the effects of providing feedback about quality improvement measures to nurses show mixed results and the factors explaining the variance in effects are not yet well-understood. One of the factors that could explain the variance in outcomes is how nurses perceive the feedback. It is not the feedback per se that influences nurses, and consequently their performance, but rather the way the feedback is perceived. Read more
Communicating COVID-19 health information to culturally and linguistically diverse communities: insights from a participatory research collaboration.
Wild A, Kunstler B, Goodwin D, Onyala S, Zhang L, Kufi M, Salim W, Musse F, Mohideen M, Asthana M, Al-Khafaji M, Geronimo MA, Coase D, Chew E, Micallef E, Skouteris H.
Public Health Res Pract. 2021;31(1):e3112105.
Objective: To consider the challenges of communicating COVID-19 directives to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in Australia, and present evidence-based solutions to influence policy and practice on promoting relevant health behaviours; to advance participatory research methodologies for health behaviour change.
The above information has been collated for the College of Nurses Aotearoa (NZ) Inc by Linda Stopforth, SNIPS and is provided on a weekly basis. It is current as of 23 March 2021
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