DHBS Delighted By Survey Findings

21 District Health Boards

Media Release For Immediate Use
12 March 2009

DHBS Delighted By Survey Findings

Jim Green, Lead CEO for Nursing and Midwifery Workforce

Initiatives to tackle nursing workforce issues are clearly paying off.

That’s apparent from survey findings released by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, which highlight much that is positive about working as a nurse.

While we need to remember that this is a very small survey (just over 805 nurses responded out of an estimated 42,000 NZNO members), there are some encouraging conclusions that can be reached.

The survey shows New Zealand nurses are better qualified and have higher morale than their United Kingdom counterparts, most like their work and feel that it’s of value, they like their working hours, and a staggering 80 percent feel they’ve managed to achieve a good work-life balance.

These things confirm the value of the work being led by the 21 District Health Boards to address key workforce issues. For example, the DHBs have a formal partnership arrangement with NZNO that has been working to ensure safe staffing levels and healthy workplaces. At the same time, through specific government investment via the Clinical Training Agency there has been a huge boost in the availability of paid advanced clinical training across the whole DHB and wider sector where nurses work.

I was interested to see concerns about access to training raised in the survey. There have been substantial improvements in the past few years so the concerns raised, while valid for individuals, seem out of step with what is occurring in the sector as a whole. Likewise with the concerns raised about nursing pay rates. There have been very significant improvements in this area in recent years, and clearly nursing continues to be an attractive career for the many who apply for nursing courses each year.

The release of the information is also timely given the Minister of Health’s release today of a report on the fostering of Clinical Leadership in New Zealand healthcare. This survey shows that nurses, working with their DHBs and other employers, are well placed to continue increasing the significant contribution they make to health, to achieve the improved outcomes for patients the community, Minister and DHBs all jointly seek.

ENDS

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