Two DHBs, 200 nursing roles vacant

More than 200 nursing roles are waiting to be filled across just two of the country’s 20 District Health Boards (DHB), as officials work to make good on safe staffing promises made during protracted contract negotiations.

And the New Zealand Nurses’ Organisation (NZNO) picked those figures were likely to be the tip of the iceberg, as DHBs work to meet growing patient demand.

Counties-Manukau (CMDHB) and Waikato DHBs have at least 100 nursing vacancies each, with the South Auckland CMDHB seeking approval to hire almost 40 more.

In a report tabled a fortnight ago, Chief Nurse Jenny Parr said 140 fulltime nursing and midwifery roles were being ‘‘actively recruited’’.

The report also revealed that, in August, Middlemore Hospital’s emergency department recorded its highest number of attendances in a single week since 2013.

Waikato DHB chief nursing and midwifery officer Sue Hayward said its vacancies were part of a planned increase.

‘‘We have employed 20 more graduate nurses when compared with last year and are inviting nurses out of practice for up to five years support to return to the workforce.’’

In December, health reporting agency Technical Advisory Services claimed there were 1038 fulltime permanent nurse vacancies open across all DHBs.

Stuff requested vacancy figures from Auckland, Capital & Coast, Hutt Valley, Canterbury and Southern DHBs but each said it needed more time to respond.

NZNO associate professional services manager Hilary GrahamSmith said that shortages were a nationwide problem.

‘‘Certainly, we are aware in some areas where there are significant vacancies. This is causing difficulty in terms of adequate staffing wards and units.’’