Welcome to the College of Nurses Aotearoa News Update.
No. 615 Wednesday 19 October 2022
Weekly news round-up of nursing and health information in New Zealand and internationally
New Zealand news
Overseas nurses in NZ getting paid more as 'stop-go' workers - RNZ
Overseas nurses are working as 'stop-go' road workers rather than at hospitals because they can earn up to $10 more per hour.
Whangārei hospital nurse says staff shortages affecting patient safety - NZ Herald
A nurse at Whangārei Hospital's Emergency Department says staff are so tired from working long hours they are making major errors with medication.
Primary Health Care Nurses To Strike For Pay Parity - Scoop NZ
Nurses working across the Primary Health Care sector have overwhelmingly voted to strike for four hours (10am-2pm) on 27 October in three separate ballots. The strikes are the result of employers’ inability to deliver Pay Parity with nurses employed by Health NZ Te Whatu Ora, due to a lack of Government funding - despite more than a year of bargaining.
Emergency nurses celebrated | Otago Daily Times Online News
Emergency nursing staff "stood strong" across the country yesterday as they celebrated their dedicated day.
Nursing Students At Whitireia To Head Out Into The Community To Offer Health Checks And Advice
First year Bachelor of Nursing students at Whitireia are putting their learning into practice by offering free health checks and sharing information on good health at student-run Health Promotion Days in Petone, Porirua and on the Kāpiti coast.
Bucking the trend: Nurse ditches Aus for better life on the West Coast | Stuff.co.nz
A huge push to recruit Kiwi nurses is putting further pressure on New Zealand's stretch health sector, but one West Coast nurse is bucking the trend by choosing to move here from Australia instead.
International news
Australian Nursing Federation demands 10 per cent pay rise at stop work meeting in Perth
Nurses and midwives vote to demand a 10 per cent annual wage increase from the ...
Family comes first for changing face of student nurse, study finds
With the average age of Australian female nursing students on the rise, family responsibilities and other life commitments are regularly taking precedence over course education, according to new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU).
Australian billboard ads aimed at poaching Irish nurses and doctors appear near Dublin hospital
Hundreds of doctors spend around two years working Down Under before they return to Ireland or the United Kingdom to begin their specialty training
Charge Nurse Calls 911, Desperate For Help in Understaffed ER - Nurse.org
On Saturday, the charge nurse from the Emergency Room at St. Michael Medical Center in Washington called dispatchers at Kitsap 911 through an official backline. St. Michael’s is experiencing a staffing shortage, like most healthcare facilities in the country, and this time there just wasn’t enough staff to care for the patients including the 45 in the waiting room.
Nurses face job insecurity with closure of COVID-19 wards - The Korea Times
Nurses, along with other healthcare workers, have been lauded as heroes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as they have been at the forefront of ...
Aged care
Sector in crisis: Dementia care unit closure 'distressing' | Otago Daily Times Online News
These included pay parity for nurses working in aged care, and immediate residency for trained nurses who wanted to come to New Zealand. HNZS planning ...
High praise for ground-breaking dementia care resources | Stuff.co.nz
A new set of free educational resources, designed to enhance the way those living with dementia in Aotearoa New Zealand are cared for, has been welcomed with open arms by carers since being launched in early September.
Asian health
Pilot Asian perinatal support programme sees more new parents helped in Waitematā
A programme launched in January has seen an increase in perinatal mental health referrals for people of Asian background in the Waitematā region.
Cancer issues
Experts Adopt New Guidelines To Improve Treatment For Kiwis With Advanced Breast Cancer
A new set of clinical guidelines for the treatment of advanced breast cancer (ABC) has launched today, Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day (13 October).
Children and young people
Campaign To Ease Children’s Fears About Anaesthesia
Helping parents and carers to relieve their child’s anxiety before an operation is the focus of a new information campaign launched today.
Covid
'We need that leadership' - Baker calls for return to Covid alert level system
New Zealand has recorded its first case of the new Omicron subvariant BQ.1.1, and epidemiologist Michael Baker said a return to some kind of alert level system could help avoid the worst in future Covid-19 waves.
The Ministry of Health announced yesterday that Omicron subvariant BQ.1.1
Omicron: What the latest data tells us about Covid in NZ
A third nationwide wave caused by Omicron sub-variants appears inevitable, data analysed by Kate Newton shows.
When it comes to Covid, it seems that what goes down must inevitably go up.
Covid-19: 90% of NZ's AstraZeneca vaccine doses, worth $1.1m, went to waste
Less than 8% of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines ordered for use in New Zealand ended up in people's arms, while more than 110,000 doses – worth about $1.1 million – went to waste
Diabetes
Diabetics won’t be made to pay for alternative medicines, Pharmac says
Pharmac says people with type 2 diabetes won’t be made to pay for alternative medicines.
This follows news there is a global shortage of dulaglutide, a diabetes drug that could affect thousands in Aotearoa alone.
Food and nutrition
Highest jump in food costs in more than a decade puts Government under pressure
Soaring food costs in every supermarket aisle continue to batter families and put more pressure on the Government as new figures show food inflation is at a 13-year-high.
Health NZ Te Whatu Ora
South needs fresh thinking for next decade of healthcare | Stuff.co.nz
OPINION: News of fears that the Southland Hospital is on the verge of collapse reflects the angst created by a combination of this Labour Government’s historic incompetence when it comes to building hospitals big enough to service the region’s growing communities.
Southland health crisis a matter of people not money, minister says | Stuff.co.nz
Southland Hospital will continue pausing services and sending patients elsewhere in the forseeable future as country struggles to recruit during international workforce shortages.
Middlemore emergency department slammed as unsafe for patients and staff
The emergency department of one of New Zealand's biggest hospitals has been slammed as unsafe for patients and staff in a damning new report.
Hospital wait time issues are systemic, say healthcare specialists
Emergency care specialists are warning that the issues identified in a damning report into Middlemore Hospital's ED are symptomatic of the entire health system.
Damning Middlemore Hospital report: ED doctors fear further tragedy at overwhelmed health services
Emergency doctors fear more unnecessary deaths as overwhelmed hospitals struggle with surging patient demand in what one desperate clinician describes as a "s**tstorm".
'System-wide solutions' needed to fix 'unsafe' Middlemore ED, doctor say
A spokesperson for the College of Emergency medicine says the increased overcrowding at Middlemore Hospital “has been coming for almost a decade”.
No city emergency departments meeting treatment target - Health Minister
No big city hospitals are meeting their target for treating emergency department patients within six hours.
Health workforce and recruitment
Health NZ needs 650 mental health staff to fill gaps
In need of 650 full-time mental health workers, the public health system has entered a “downward spiral” with no easy fix, Mental Health Foundation chief executive Shaun Robinson says.
Visa pathway a relief for foreign nurses seeking residency - 1News
Some foreign nurses who've been fighting for New Zealand residency are celebrating after learning they can apply through the reopening skilled migrant category.
Ministry of Health
Special Patients and Restricted Patients: Guidelines for Regional Forensic Mental Health Services
Regional forensic mental health services are responsible for the care and treatment of special patients and restricted patients within the legislative framework of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992 and the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003. Regional forensic mental health services have a focus on recovery and rehabilitation, but also need to maintain safety and security for tāngata whaiora and the public.
…
These guidelines are intended to foster consistent decision-making by clinicians, facilitate the administration of matters relating to special patient leave, and provide transparency around the processes used in reaching decisions about special patients.
Guidelines to the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992
The Ministry has revised the guidance to the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992 (the Act), outlining the rights of compulsory mental health consumers and the obligations of mental health clinicians. This guidance is intended to support the effective and lawful use of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992. They are written mainly for clinical staff, district inspectors and any other parties who administer or work within the legal or clinical framework of the Mental Health Act. Families and whānau, service users and tāngata whai ora, and members of the public may also find these guidelines useful.
A number of key changes and emerging issues have been signalled in the revision of these Guidelines
COVID-19 Mortality in Aotearoa New Zealand: Inequities in Risk
Until January 2022, Aotearoa New Zealand experienced very low rates of COVID-19 and, therefore, few hospitalisations or deaths due to the virus. However, with the Omicron variant quickly becoming established in our community, from 1 January to 26 August 2022, a total of 1,797 people sadly died due to COVID-19 (that is, where COVID-19 was related to the cause of death). This number excludes people who died with, but not because of, COVID-19. This equates to 34 in every 100,000 New Zealanders having died due to COVID-19 during this time period.
Clinical Rehabilitation Guideline for People with Long COVID in Aotearoa New Zealand
This guideline is intended to provide clinical guidance on long COVID conditions in both children and adults in Aotearoa New Zealand
Reports and Journals online
All-of-Government Pacific Wellbeing Strategy
Mai na matua, mo ki tatou, ki na fanau - Learning from yesterday, living today, and hope for the future
This alagakupu Tokelau guides the Strategy and urges us to learn from our ancestors, from past experiences, and through living today, to ensure hope for our families and the future.
The All-of-Government Pacific Wellbeing Strategy is the mechanism for a new way of working across government to improve wellbeing outcomes for Pacific peoples
Geriatrics Research Review
Issue 15
In this issue, we look at the use of exergaming-based interventions to improve mobility and balance in patients with Parkinson disease.
Other highlights include:
Predictors of returning home after hip fracture
- Impact of frailty in patients with atrial fibrillation
- Supplemental vitamin D and incident fractures in midlife and beyond
Immuno-oncology Research Review
Issue 21
In this issue, Dr Robert Weinkove has reviewed a number of interesting studies, including
a retrospective study comparing the CAR T-cell therapies axi-cel (axicabtagene ciloleucel) and tisa-cel (tisagenlecleucel) in a real-world cohort of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
Other highlights include:
Anti-CD19 CAR T-cells for B-cell ALL with CNS involvement
- Disparities in immune checkpoint inhibitor trials
- Teclistamab in relapsed/ refractory myeloma
Articles of interest
Experiences of New Zealand public health messaging while in lockdown. Australian and New Zealand
Officer, T.N., McKinlay, E., Imlach, F., Kennedy, J., Churchward, M. and McBride-Henry, K. (2022),
Journal of Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.13297
Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to greater societal divides based on alignment with vaccine mandates and social distancing requirements. This paper briefly lays out the experiences of individuals in Aotearoa New Zealand related to public health messaging.
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 18 October
If you have any feedback about content - what parts are most useful or what you would like added - please email admin@nurse.org.nz
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