Nurse Shortages and Te Aka Whai Ora w/ the National Party’s Katie Nimon: 14th May, 2024.

On May 9th the New Zealand Nurses organisation held a national day of action 2024, with rallies across the country calling for increased public health funding. While the government has introduced measures to increase the number of nurses in Aotearoa, staffing shortages are still frequent in wards across the country. 

Additionally, there are worries that the recently scrapped Te Aka Whai Ora could impact the already struggling sector, taking focus away from those who need health support most and potentially increasing the workload for frontline health workers. 

In our weekly catchup with the National party, Wire host Castor spoke to Katie Nimon about the government’s approach to public health policy and how the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora could affect the health sector.