May 22, 2023
Te Whatu Ora seeks to block Gisborne nurse strike
Te Whatu Ora is going to court this morning in an attempt to stop acute medical nurses at Gisborne Hospital from holding a one-hour strike on Wednesday.
New Zealand Nurses Organisation chief executive Paul Goulter says the interim injunction application is a heavy-handed response to a crisis that is putting the wellbeing of both patients and nurses at risk.
He says the 24 staff had already negotiated an agreement, signed off by Te Whatu Ora, over provision of life preserving services, including a protocol for management of emergencies.
Nurses organisation delegate Christine Warrander says the proposed strike is a last-ditch effort to be heard after repeated pleas for help had fallen on deaf ears.
She says the nurses face acute staff shortages, untenable workloads, stress, increased sick leave, burn out and resignations.