Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

More mental health nurses sign up for voluntary bonding

More mental health nurses sign up for voluntary bonding

A record number of mental health nurses have applied for a scheme to help reduce shortages in hospitals, in our communities, and in our regions, Health Minister David Clark says.

The Voluntary Bonding Scheme, which has been running for a decade, had 148 mental health nurses accepted for the 2019 intake, the highest ever and an 11% increase on last year.

“The Government is committed to taking mental health and addiction seriously. We want to ensure everyone can get access to mental health support when they need it.

“To make that happen we know we need more mental health nurses in our hospitals, community organisations and addiction services. So it’s encouraging to see more new nurses sign up for voluntary bonding,” David Clark said.

“Past experience tells us that registered nurses on the scheme are more likely to stay in mental health work than their counterparts. Their retention rate at five years is up to 27 percent higher. That’s a great result and is good evidence the Scheme is working.

“Staying in the job longer is better for both patients and health services. Patients benefit by being treated by more experienced staff and health services gain from savings in recruitment and training costs – a saving of $1.90 for every dollar spent on the scheme.

The mental health nurse graduates registering for the scheme include 24 mental health nurses within Canterbury DHB, 19 within Waitematā DHB and 18 within Counties Manukau DHB.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

This year 357 new graduate health professionals were accepted on the scheme – about the same as last year.

This year’s intake included 67 new midwifery graduates – a record number which represents almost 40% of all midwives who graduated last year. A significant proportion of the midwifery registrations (25) were from the Counties Manukau DHB region - where there has been particular pressure on services.

More GP trainees were also registered with the scheme this year than ever before – 35, up from 24 last year.

“It is also good to see that we’ve had a high number of Māori health professional graduates register – 73, on a par with a record 74 registrants last year. There were also 40 Pasifika graduates who signed up.

“This means that nearly a third of all the graduates accepted on the scheme this year (31.6%) are of Māori or Pasifika descent. We need to continue to build on these numbers so that our health workforce is more representative of our diverse communities,” David Clark said.


© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On National’s Fantasy Trip To La La Landlord Land


How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is:
(A) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was touting to voters last year has now blown out to $2.9 billion. (That’s a 38% size error in the calculations.)
(B) unable to provide assurance that this handout won’t simply be pocketed by landlords
(C) unable to explain why Treasury (in research as recent as August 2023) wasn’t citing the loss of interest deductibility as a prime factor driving up rents.
More than anything, the Great Landlords Handout undermines the government’s alarmist talk about the state of the country’s books...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.