More than 36,000 nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants walked off the job on Wednesday. Photo: Wallace Chapman
Health NZ has work underway to rebook about 4300 patient appointments and procedures, which had to be postponed due to the 24-hour nurses' strike.
More than 36,000 nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants - frustrated by what they say is Health NZ's refusal to commit to safe staffing levels in their collective agreement - walked off the job until 9am Thursday.
Health NZ chief executive Dr Dale Bramley said the impact varied by hospital, depending on acute demand and the number of Nurses Organisation members who actually took strike action.
"Despite heavy winter occupancy in some areas, our hospitals got through the strike without any serious incidents, which is a testament to all those staff and volunteers who provided support," he said.
"While the strike lasted 24 hours, an enormous amount of planning work went on beforehand and there is a lot more work to do now the strike has finished."
An estimated 4300 planned procedures and specialist appointments had to be deferred because of the strike, he said.
"We remain very concerned about the significant number of patients who have had much-needed treatment deferred due to the strike. New appointments for those patients will be scheduled as soon as possible."
Meanwhile, Health NZ was committed to getting a deal with the Nurses Organisation, and remained "completely committed to patient and staff safety", Bramley said.
"We have more nurses working for Health NZ than ever before.
"In the two years to March 2025, our nursing FTE increased by over 3000, turnover has dropped from 13.3 percent to 8.2 percent and our vacancy rate is now at a six-year low of 3.6 percent."
'Talk to your nurses, they'll tell you the truth'
Nurses Organisation chief executive Paul Goulter dismissed claims by Bramley that hospitals already had enough nurses to provide safe staffing.
Health NZ's own data showed many shifts continued to be understaffed, he said.
"The so-called 'additional' 3000 nurses were employed because Te Whatu Ora's own staffing models showed that they were needed.
"I can assure you that those extra nurses weren't just appointed because someone felt like it. Those numbers came out of the staffing model that Te Whatu Ora maintain."
The NZNO was still waiting for information promised on both the budgeted number of nurses and the number needed according to Health NZ's own criteria, he said.
Union members wanted long-standing safe staffing guarantees put back into the contract after they were removed from the new offer.
"We and our nurses have lost all trust that government will resource the number needed so we want those obligations in the collective so we have some guarantee they will be recruited to."
Bramley's claim that "objective measures" (including pressure sores and patient deaths) showed patient care was improving did not tally with reports from front-line staff, Goulter said.
"Talk to your nurses, they'll tell you the truth."
No further negotiations were set down at this stage, he said.
"Our members are very keen that we press ahead with consideration of further action so can move into a negotiating environment where issues can be dealt with, and not just be told 'This is the best you're going to get'."
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