‘Vaccinator assistant’ training to fill gap
WELLINGTON: The Ministry of Health plans to fill New Zealand’s 4500vaccinator shortage by training people to become ‘‘vaccinator assistants’’.
It would enable people to apply for an elearning course which would eventually qualify them to prepare and administer the vaccine, and carry out postvaccine observation.
The plan required a change to the Medicines Regulations legislation from 1984.
A document outlining the plan was released late last week and the consultation period closes at noon today.
It came as Auckland’s Otara vaccination site considered reducing its operating hours due to having too few vaccinators.
The document detailed a shortage of 4500 vaccinators required to meet endofyear vaccination targets.
Only 1500 of the 4200 trained vaccinators were vaccinating.
It also highlighted issues with the workforce not reflecting the New Zealand population culturally.
An initial pilot of the programme, the latter being developed by the Immunisation Advisory Centre (IMAC), was under way with several district health boards and other providers who were likely to be early employers of vaccinator assistants (VAs).
Following the initial elearning course, prospective VAs would undergo an inperson training session in infection control and vaccine handling.
VAs must complete CPR training before moving on to supervised practice and a final assessment.
According to the plan, the VAs would be under clinical supervision at a ratio of one supervisor to six vaccinators.
Its stated benefits were increasing the vaccinator workforce, boosting outreach and inhome vaccination programmes, and furthering representation of Maori and Pasifika communities in the workforce.
Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners medical director Dr Bryan Betty said the programme was justified given the dire need for vaccinators.
However, he said the training component had to be sufficient for the level of healthcare provision the VAs were to be entrusted with.
New Zealand Nurses Organisation nursing and professional services manager Kate Weston said the ‘‘rushed’’ proposal had not been given to service providers early enough.
‘‘It is so late. This has obviously been in the wind for some time and [the Ministry of Health] has taken far too long to come to groups such as NZNO because we represent both nurses and caregivers,’’ she said.
Ms Weston had three issues with the plan: the nurse workforce had been overlooked, nurses could be liable for the actions of unregulated staff, and nonclinical staff administering vaccinations pointed to a historical equity issue.
‘‘It comes back to a longstanding failure to recruit Maori nurses,’’ Ms Weston said, referencing her final point.
Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand chief executive Andrew Gaudin supported the plan conditionally, wanting assurance patient health would not be compromised.
He referenced the 50006000 pharmacy technicians who would be able to deliver vaccinations under this plan as a key addition to an ‘‘insufficient’’ workforce.
He said there was a need to choose prospective VAs who would operate with the professionalism that was required.
A ministry spokesman said the new workforce would receive specialist training and be required to meet the same standards as expected of all those working as vaccinators in New Zealand. —