Media Release

Nurses Call For Less Rhetoric, Proper Debate and Careful Consideration Before Any Action is Taken on the Latest Report

Commenting on the Report to the Minister of Health of the Ministerial Review Group, New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) Chief Executive Geoff Annals called for careful consideration of the many (170) recommendations it makes before decisions are made.

Annals said, “We agree with the Minister when he says the report needs careful consideration. But we don’t agree that prefacing dialogue with negative slogans that cast health managers and administrators as worthless bureaucrats will aid open debate and good decision making. The issues addressed by the report are too important to be lost amidst political rhetoric.”

“It is popular to call for fewer bureaucrats and more nurses and doctors but the reality is that if our health services were run without good managers and administrators, nurses, doctors and our patients would be lost in chaos and wastefulness” said Annals. “Rather than denigrating managers, administrators and back-office workers let’s make sure everyone is able to do the work that needs to be done, whether it be direct clinical care or back-office administration. The report attempts this and we all should work carefully through the analysis and the recommendations . We would expect to be included in any consultation process as our members will most certainly be directly impacted upon.”

Annals acknowledged  Ministry of Health (MoH) Director General Stephen McKernan and his staff. “It is a thankless task these days to be a Ministry official. The recommendations in this report will make all Ministry staff feel disregarded and ill-used. New Zealanders are very well served by the MoH and we can be proud of our Ministry officials. The most obvious recent example has been their performance responding to the threat of swine flu. Most of the work done by these back-office staff is equally important, just much less visible.”

The recommendations made by the Review Group amount to a substantial restructure. A National Health Board, a National Quality Agency, a National Shared Services Agency are all proposed with many functions transferred from the MoH  to these new entities.  It is not altogether clear why these new entities are required. Whether the cost this restructure would entail is outweighed over time by the benefits it intends to deliver is at this point unknown. “It is crucial that we have made an accurate assessment of the costs this restructure would entail and are certain of the benefits it delivers before any action is taken on this report. History shows us that adaptive functional change is more successful than radical structural change at bringing sustainable improvement. ” said Annals.

In advising on systems and infrastructure the Review Group recognises the centrality of the health workforce. NZNO welcomes the recommendation to develop a national health workforce plan. “New Zealand is a small country with a well educated and skilled health workforce but we need a clear health workforce strategy and plan if we are to have the sort of health services now and into the future, that New Zealanders expect” said Annals. 

One set of objectives of the report was to advance clinical leadership, productivity and quality of patient services. These are important objectives and nurses will be surprised the Review Group does not reference the report of the Safe Staffing/Healthy Workplaces Committee of Inquiry which covers these objectives in detail from the perspective of nurses and midwives. “Nurses and midwives are tired of hearing how important they are while their professional perspective and expertise on matters as central to nursing as clinical leadership, productivity and quality of patient care is discounted and they continue to be excluded from the governance and leadership forums that would give substance to this platitude” said Annals.

ENDS

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