Find the money

Every day in every hospital, nurses make simple but life-saving decisions. They carefully check they are about to give the right medicine. They make simple but critical calculations. They know what they are doing. One would think it’s the same with the Government and its responsibility to count how much it is going to spend, tax and borrow.

We have heard there is to be an additional $2.5 billion over the next five years for feesfree tertiary education, and $1 billion a year for regional development. Kerikeri is getting a pretty airport. There was also a promise of no new taxes, then amended to exclude any tax with the word ‘petrol’ in front of it. In addition, our acting Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters says the increase in foreign affairs funding of just over $900 million is not as much as he was hoping for.

He is also saying there is no more money for our nurses. It is the best he can do. He says the current position is because of years of underfunding. Surely the current coalition Government hasn’t just worked out how to add up? Something perhaps it could have refined long before committing to the handouts listed above.

So now that the Government has done the sums, albeit belatedly, doesn’t it reverse or amend the roll-out of feesfree tertiary education? Nurses deserve a significant pay rise.

In recent years high profile health leaders have made claims that disruptive technology and artificial intelligence will negate the need to train more nurses. They are wrong. Moreover, this talk has damaged the health sector. It has allowed the Ministry of Health and the Government to lose sight of its most important asset, the workforce. Patients often give me feedback about their experience in hospital. They are always appreciative of the care and attention they receive from the nurses, often acknowledging how busy and run off their feet they are.

Research shows that in time of real need, what patients value most is human care and empathy. This is the domain of our nurses.

Francie Toto is one of those nurses, currently working at Kawakawa Hospital. Her recent comments in anticipation of the industrial action say it all: “It’s about being respected for the skills and high level of ongoing education that nurses bring to the care of our patients . . . for all the energy and time we give providing meaningful interactions and positive health outcomes . . . for the lack of mental space left for our families after an emotionally exhausting shift at work . . . it’s about safety in staffing and safety for nurses who are at the forefront of verbal and physical abuse every day at work . . . it’s about respect . . . for all the life and love that we give to our patients. Stop relying on our empathy and good natures to staff unsafe hospitals, to work in unsafe ways, to work overtime and to be on call, to always be one step ahead and to have enough knowledge to pick up mistakes, recognise problems, identify illness and deterioration to support those who are dying, to be there for wha¯nau and to save lives . . .”

Find the money.

"Research shows that in time of real need, what patients value most is human care and empathy."