More than a hundred nurses, midwives, healthcare assistants, and kaimahi hauora took to the streets in central Whakatāne on Wednesday, joining a nationwide strike to demand urgent action on safe staffing levels.

The striking health workers, all employed by Health NZ Te Whatu Ora, say staff shortages are putting patients and healthcare workers at risk.

Sharon Powley, co-convener of the Whakatāne strike and a nurse with over 40 years’ experience, said the 24-hour strike – which ended yesterday morning – was a last resort after negotiations with Health NZ failed to produce meaningful solutions.

“These issues are very much about safe staffing,” Ms Powley said. “There is very clear and truthful data showing our departments don’t have enough staff to meet the needs of our community. Yet, the Government is not willing to commit to the resources we need.”

Ms Powley said the Bay of Plenty region needed 86 more full-time staff – nurses and healthcare assistants –representing over $10 million in staffing costs.

Despite the strike, Ms Powley emphasised that staff would much rather be at work caring for patients.

“People are really frustrated. We know we have walked away from our patients, we don’t want to be here, we would rather the Government just sat at the table and was sensible about the needs of health because it is not going to go away.

“Yes, there is the wage increase according to the Consumer Price Index. But that is not the real driver. The real driver is we want to come to work, care for our patients and for them to be safe and more often that not we are on very precarious ground regarding that.”

Ms Powley noted that modern healthcare demands have grown significantly.

“We have wonderful medicines that keep people alive and so they live longer, but with multiple co-morbidities. Patients are just more complex.”

NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter said concerns about chronic and ongoing staff shortages had been raised continually throughout the collective agreement bargaining process, which began last September and had led to the strike this week.

“Short staffing not only puts patients at risk it impacts on the number of procedures and assessments hospitals can carry out, adding to wait times.”