Kerre Woodham: Can there ever be enough nurses?

Starting with some good news on a good news Monday, Health NZ added 2100 nurses and more than 600 doctors to its ranks since the election in March 2025, according to new figures published.

The most recent health workforce data showed that as of March 2025, there were 35,341 nurses, 5188 resident medical officers, and 6419 senior medical officers -  both the categories of doctors. Not all of these people are working full time, but they're all on the books.

And yet, despite the fact that since the election there's been a major recruitment drive, more than 36,000 Te Whatu Ora nurses, midwives, healthcare assistants have voted to strike for 24 hours later this month - because they say they have safe staffing concerns. 

They say patients are at risk because of the short staffing, the nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants are stretched too thin and cannot give patients the care they need.

And I totally accept this, this is heartbreaking for our exhausted members who became healthcare workers because they want to help people.  

So what's the story? We've had 2100 more nurses added to the ranks. Can there ever be enough nurses? Was there ever a time when you worked for Health New Zealand, that there were enough staff? That there were enough healthcare assistants and midwives and nurses?

Was there a time you can go back to and say, in 1998, - we had so many staff, it was fantastic. You could sit and chat with patients, spend some quality time with them you didn't have to do the administrative work, you didn't have to do the clean up work because there were people who were capable, who were employed, who did that work.

If 2100 nurses have been hired and you’re still stretched so thin, how on earth did you get through the previous 6-7 years?

It is a really tough job and there is so much more to the job than what the average patient sees. In the press release from the union, they say that burnt out nurses have left to go to Australia, where the pay and the working conditions are so much better, and they are. The pay and the working conditions have always been better in Australia.  

But then in part,  our New Zealand nurses going to to Australia are part of a global migration route of health staff. English, Irish, Filipino nurses come here looking to better their pay and their working conditions, looking for a better work life balance. So it's all part of that global migration route of health staff which seems to be particularly mobile.

But I'd really love to hear from health staff. You don't strike lightly, I know that.  

What is it that you need to feel that you can do your job well? How many more staff do you need to feel that you can look after your patient safely? 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the kerrywoodem Mornings podcast from News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
He'd be so startying with some good news on a
good news Monday. Health New Zealand EFATORA added two thousand,
one hundred nurses and more than six hundred doctors to
its ranks since the election and March twenty twenty five,
according to new figures published by Health New Zealand. The
most recent health workforce darter showed that as of March

(00:33):
twenty twenty five, there were thirty five three hundred and
forty one nurses, fivey one hundred and eighty eight resident
medical offices and six four hundred and nineteen senior medical offices,
both the categories of doctors. Not all of these people
are working full time, but they're all on the books.
And yet, despite the fact that since the election there's

(00:56):
been a major recruitment drive, more than thirty six thousand
tefardo order nurses, midwives healthcare assistants have voted to strike
for twenty four hours later this month because they say
they have safe staffing concerns. They say patients are at

(01:16):
risk because of the short staffing. The nurses, midwives and
healthcare assistants are stretched too thin and cannot give patients
the care they need, they say, and I totally accept this.
This is heartbreaking for our exhausted members who became healthcare
workers because they want to help people. So what's the story.

(01:42):
We've had two one hundred more nurses added to the ranks.
And this isn't just an you know, this isn't more
one hundred nurses have been added, but eight hundred of left.
These are an extra one hundred nurses and extra six
hundred doctors that have been employed. So can there ever

(02:03):
be enough nurses? Was there ever a time when you
worked for health in New Zealand that there were enough staff,
that there were enough healthcare assistance and midwives and nurses.
Was there a time you can go back to and
stay there. Nineteen ninety eight we had so many staff

(02:28):
it was fantastic. You could sit and chat with patients,
you know, spend some quality time with them. You didn't
have to do the administrative work, you didn't have to
do the clean up work because there were people who
were capable, who were employed, who did that work. Nineteen
ninety eight was a golden year. So if twenty one

(02:52):
hundred nurses have been hired and you still stretched so thin.
How on earth did you get through the previous six
seven years. It is a really tough job and there
is so much more to the job than what the
average patient sees. And the press release from the union

(03:18):
they say that burnt out nurses have left to go
to Australia where the pay and the working conditions are
so much better, And they are. The pay and the
working conditions have always been better in Australia, But then
they're part our New Zealand. Nurses going to Australia are
part of a global migration route of health stuff. English, Irish,

(03:42):
Filipino nurses come here looking to better their pay and
their working conditions, looking for a better work life balance.
So it's all part of that global migration route of
health stuff which seems to be, you know, particularly mobile.

(04:02):
But I'd really love to hear from health stuff you
don't strike lifely. I know that, And you're going to
strike in just over two weeks because of the concern
about safe staffing levels. What is it that you need
to feel that you can do your job well? How

(04:24):
many more staff do you need to feel that you
can look after your patients safely? And an ideal world
if you were Sami and Brown, how many more staff
would you hire? What areas would you put them into?
Do you need more cleaning assistance? Do you need more

(04:48):
admin people who actually know what they're doing, fewer middle managers?
Where is it that it's going to make a difference,
because honestly, I was like, yay, twenty one hundred nurses,
more than six hundred doctors. Finally you've got a government
that's actually hiring them, not saying we're going to put
them on a wish list. Migration, you know you've got

(05:10):
these are people who are crocs on the ground. You
know they're they're they're there in the woods. So how
many more do you need? And has there ever been
a time where you have thought this is great? I
really love going to work. I feel supported, I feel valued.

(05:33):
I feel like I have a team around me that
can help me do my job brilliantly.

Speaker 1 (05:37):
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