More than one in four midwifery positions are vacant in the nation’s hospitals, and on average nearly one in 10 nursing positions, data shows.
Data released as a written parliamentary question showed that as of March 31, there was an average vacancy rate of 27.6% for midwives in the country’s now-defunct health boards.
Taranaki had the highest vacancy rate in the country (56%), with more unmanned midwives than full-time staff. There are 23 vacancies with only 18 midwives in position.
Otago, Queenstown and Lakes (Southern) also had high midwives vacancy rates, 45.2%, and Wellington had a 39.3% vacancy rate.
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National Party health spokesperson Dr. Shane Reti, who released the data, said Aotearoa’s hospitals were “falling apart” and doctors and nurses were “burnt out”.
It comes as winter sicknesses are take a toll on the health system, which is flooding primary care and emergency rooms. EDs and urgent care clinics report busiest ever as Ministry of Health says New Zealand faces one of its “most challenging” flu seasons in recent years.
The data shows that there were 982.28 full-time midwives employed in the 20 health boards, while 374.07 positions were vacant.
Only Whanganui had no vacancies for midwives as of March 31. All other health boards had gaps.
Tom Lee / Stuff
Taranaki had the highest vacancy rate for midwives on March 31, the data shows.
Prior to data collection, a vacancy was an unfilled permanent position with funding allocated and which would be actively recruited within six months.
It remained a temporary vacancy. It excluded casual workers, contractors and those on parental or unpaid leave.
The data also showed that as of March 31, 9.4% of registered nurse positions on the district health boards (including senior nurses) were vacant.
Auckland’s health district needed 428 nurses, Counties Manukau needed 321 and Wellington had 308 vacancies.
Robyn Edie / Stuff
New Zealand is in the throes of one of the “most challenging” flu seasons in recent years, with respiratory illnesses and now the number of hospitalizations from Covid-19.
Across the country, as of March 31, there were 25,012 contracted full-time equivalent registered nurses.
An additional 2,592 positions were vacant, the data showed.
Reti said Aotearoa urgently needs nurses and midwives.
“Some regions are reaching dangerously high job openings, and it just emphasizes the urgency of getting nurses and midwives on the fast track straight to their hometowns.”
He called on the government to change the country’s immigration institutions to put nurses and midwives on the same trajectory as doctors, to ease the pressure.
Peter Meecham / Stuff
Health Minister Andrew Little said multiple nurse recruitment campaigns are underway in Aotearoa and abroad, including to allow Kiwi nurses living abroad to come home.
Health Minister Andrew Little said immigration was “just one piece of the puzzle” as there is an international shortage of nurses.
“National’s policy of relying solely on immigration to staff New Zealand’s hospitals is not working.”
Little said the government has hired 3,400 more nurses (FTE) to work in public hospitals than there were in 2017, and more nurses were trained “than ever before” – (8190 in 2021, compared to 7,349 in 2017).
There were “several” recruitment campaigns underway, both here and abroad, to hire more nurses.