Listen Now: 
December 05, 2025
“The silence of the nurses”: Andrew Jull warns senior nurses are being silenced amid health-system shake-ups
Dale Husband
Posted On December 5, 2025
Download AudioProfessor Andrew Jull has raised urgent concerns about how senior nurses – including chief nurses – are being silenced.
A growing chorus of concern has emerged from nursing leadership in Aotearoa: senior nurses – including chief nurses – are being prevented from speaking out about workplace conditions, patient safety, and the pressures facing the health system.
The warning comes from Professor Andrew Jull and veteran nursing leader Helen Carryer, who argue that the “silencing” of nursing voices is not only unjust – but dangerous for patient care and community trust in the health system.
In an opinion piece titled “The silence of the nurses”, Jull and Carryer question why, despite nurses being at the frontline of every major health and disaster response – from mass casualty events to epidemics and natural disasters – they are seldom, if ever, heard in public or policy debates.
They note that nurses provided critical care:
-
During surgery and recovery of conjoined twins – nurses were at the bedside constantly.
-
In response efforts at disasters including the Whakaari Island tragedy, the Christchurch earthquakes and the post-pandemic recovery.
Yet even when their roles are vital, they are regularly sidelined in media coverage, policy discussions, and institutional decision-making. The authors argue this isn’t accidental – but reflects a “systematic silencing” rooted in a long history of undervaluing nursing, especially when the work is associated with compassion, caregiving and – historically – women’s labour.
They write:
“Our enormous profession has suffered from an enduring and offensive silencing… Chief nurses are blocked from speaking publicly about organisational issues that risk patient safety, all the while being held accountable for failures of care often exacerbated by lack of staff, lack of resources, and chaotic interrupted working environments.”
The silencing comes as nurses across New Zealand struggle under mounting pressure: rising workloads, staffing shortages, burnout, and the risk of valuable voices leaving the sector. A report last month highlighted how tightened health funding is fueling nursing attrition, sick leave, and even emigration – shrinking an already stretched workforce.
Against that backdrop, preventing chief nurses and senior nursing staff from publicly raising concerns over staffing levels, resourcing, or patient care – critics argue – undermines transparency, accountability, and ultimately, patient safety.
For Jull and Carryer, the silencing isn’t only a workforce matter but a democratic and ethical issue:
-
It denies the public access to the views of those on the frontline of care.
-
It sidelines expert voices from policy formation – meaning decisions on health funding, workforce planning and service design are made without critical input.
-
It perpetuates a culture where care is commodified, and the humanity of both patients and caregivers – especially in roles historically feminised – is undervalued.
They argue that in many cases, chief nurses are held legally or institutionally accountable for failures in care – but denied the right to speak out about the systemic causes of those failures. That double standard, they say, is unfair and unsustainable.
RELATED NEWS
