More nurses mean safer patients, say Greens

Too few nurses working on our hospital wards is putting patient safety at risk, Green MP Sue Kedgley warned today.

The Green Party is backing a call from the Nurses Organisation for a binding ratio of one nurse to between four and six patients, depending on the size of hospital.

"Nurses are struggling under excessive workloads," Ms Kedgley, the Green Health spokesperson, said. "Until we put in place safe staffing ratios, patient safety will continue to be compromised and our young, talented nursing staff will head overseas to countries where their skills are recognised and rewarded."

Ms Kedgley said she was astonished that the Ministry of Health was opposing what most people would agree were sensible recommendations from the Nurses Organisation.

"Until the Ministry pulls its head out of the sand and accepts that we have a nursing crisis we will continue to suffer chronic nursing shortages in the profession and patient safety will continue to be compromised."

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>