The Government’s sudden cap on nursing students is a failure of workforce planning and shows there’s no credible plan to build a sustainable homegrown nursing workforce, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO says.
NZNO Primary Health Care College chair Tracey Morgan says at a time when the primary health care, hospitals, aged care and Māori and Iwi health care providers are crying out for nurses, this new mandate makes no sense.
"The health needs of our communities are not being met at the most basic levels because people can’t get in to see their doctor. People are travelling many kilometres from rural areas to get to after-hours emergency care because some primary providers can’t even afford to remain open. At the same time, aged care facilities are desperate for more nurses.
"This new directive from the Tertiary Education Commission to train fewer nursing students is counter-intuitive to what Aotearoa desperately needs in a health system in crisis."
Tracey Morgan says a lack of nurse educators due to the wage differential between Te Whatu Ora and education providers needs to be addressed immediately to ensure a future workforce can be trained.
"Primary care, aged care and Māori and Iwi providers are struggling to retain their nurses because they are paid on average 11% less than their hospital counterparts."
"This election NZNO is calling on all political parties to commit to a paid placement allowance for clinical placements to help nurses get through their studies because it's in nobody's interest that they half finish a qualification," Tracey Morgan says.