21 Dec 2021

ICU nurse with job lined up in NZ stuck in South Africa

From Morning Report, 7:23 am on 21 December 2021

A seasoned ICU nurse who has a job offer with Tairāwhiti DHB is stuck in South Africa with no way of getting here.

Rena - who has 16 years' experience in intensive and critical care - can't even plan to relocate because the government has put her country on a list of nine very high-risk countries following the emergence of the Omicron variant.

She's one of two dozen health workers in South Africa left waiting to see if - and how - they might get here.

Political reporter Anneke Smith has more.