The ACT Party should leave nursing to the professionals and medical evidence, NZNO says.
Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku says ACT MP Todd Stephenson has dismissed the Nursing Council’s draft code of conduct - which proposes strengthening cultural safety, whānau-centred care and te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations - as political ideology.
"This is not political ideology. It is evidence-based health care which has been proven to be the key to lifting health outcomes for Māori.
"ACT should leave nursing to professionals and medical evidence," Kerri Nuku says.
"Culturally safe care reduces health inequities, keeps more Māori out of hospital by helping identify the risk of preventable illnesses and enabling early intervention, and saves the health system money - something dear to the ACT Party," she says.
"Todd Stephenson wants health care based on need not race. There can only be equal health care if there are equal health outcomes. Māori life expectancy is seven years lower than non-Māori and Māori are more likely to suffer heart disease, cancers, diabetes and mental health issues.
"Many Māori fear hospitals and the health system, which has been found to be systemically racist. Without culturally safe health care, Māori will continue to suffer poorer health outcomes and lead sicker and shorter lives than other New Zealanders.
"As well as the devastation to lives and whānau health and wellbeing, it costs Aotearoa more in the long run," Kerri Nuku says.