Nurses sick of pay fights

When registered nurse Amanda Hessell, 27, moved from Auckland to Blenheim, she was surprised by the thin resourcing at Wairau Hospital.

‘‘I think the issue is, I came from such a big hospital,’’ Hessell said. ‘‘Here, I feel like often we’re trying to get the patients out, because we have more coming in, we’re at capacity.’’

Hessell was one of more than 50 nurses in Blenheim who took part in the nationwide strike on Wednesday, attended by thousands of her colleagues across the country.

Nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants walked off the job for eight hours, demanding better pay and staffing levels.

In Blenheim, about 40 staff walked off their shift at Wairau Hospital at 11am. They joined even more healthcare staff at Seymour Square before marching to the Cleghorn Rotunda on Market Place at midday.

‘‘It’s really about better staffing for our patients, so we can provide the best possible treatment,’’ Hessell said.

Fellow registered nurse Alex Williams said the hospital was ‘‘running thin’’.

‘‘Lots of our young nurses are leaving to go to Australia, and some nurses, the more experienced, are leaving to the private sector because it’s better pay, better conditions,’’ she said.

‘‘Going into the first year, I was really passionate and keen from studying. Then when I got into the workplace it was really stressful, I got really sick and rundown, we’re chucked in the deep end and expected to sink or swim.’’

In the past six months, she had noticed people leaving to the GP sectors and to the private sector.

‘‘Blenheim is a smaller area, so all of the younger nurses want to go overseas where the money is good, or to a bigger area like Wellington, Christchurch or Auckland where there’s more going on,’’ she said.

‘‘We’re not trying to be greedy, we just want to be appreciated for