Health New Zealand has denied allegations of a hospital recruitment freeze for graduating nurses, following an outcry from the New Zealand Nurses Organisation and allegations from impacted nurses. In a statement, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation ( NZNO ) claimed that Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora is freezing the employment of graduate nurses into the hospital system, as part of its “cost containment cuts”. The group said the mid-year intakes to facilitate graduates’ transition during their first year of practice will be paused - aside from those recruited externally into specialist services.
NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter claimed the move shows a “lack of commitment from Te Whatu Ora to grow and develop New Zealand’s nursing workforce”. “We are still in a nursing crisis. As a country, we do not train enough nurses to meet our own needs and we rely heavily on internationally qualified nurses to fill the gap,” he said.
Te Whatu Ora previously committed to permanently employing new graduates through the Safe Staffing Care Capacity Management Accord. “It is outrageous that they are now going back on that agreement,” he said. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti today said this is not the case.
“ Health NZ has assured me there is no pause on the recruitment of graduate nurses: the graduate process is still underway, applicants have expressed their preferences and matching is happening across the sector,” he said in a statement to the Herald . Reti also sai.