Aged care nurses added to long-term skills shortage list

Resthomes say a long-awaited government decision will help them recruit and retain vital overseas nurses. The government has agreed that aged care nurses will be added to the long-term skills shortage list. It's a decision that rest homes, which are short of hundreds of nurses, have pushed for over the past 18 months. The Aged Care Association's chief executive, Simon Wallace, told RNZ health correspondent Karen Brown it's great news. Simon Wallace says addressing a $50 million pay gap with public hospital nurses is the next challenge, and he's hoping the Budget later this month will help.