NZ’s Hardest Working Nurses Named

Media Release
12 January 2010

NZ’s Hardest Working Nurses Named

The four finalists in the search for “New Zealand’s Hardest Working Nurse” competition being sponsored by economist, philanthropist and writer Gareth Morgan have been named.

Jo Dysart a Huntington’s Disease Nurse Specialist at ADHB and a Coordinator for the Huntington’s Disease Association; Alison Wilden from the Gore Medical Centre; Stephanie Beddis from Hutt Hospital Emergency Department; Jeanette Banks from East Care Health, Aranui, were all nominated by their colleagues.

The final winner will get $10,000 to donate to the health charity of their choice.

“One of the key findings of our recent study on the health system, was that it was the quality of the hard working nurses that were largely holding the public health system together” said Morgan. “After talking with a lot of nursing staff, it's clear to me that they do what they do because they like making a difference and genuinely enjoy caring for their patients”

The final decision will be by popular vote on www.healthcheque.co.nz from 13th to 20th January.

Morgan ran the competition in association with his recent study on the NZ health system, published as Health Cheque, co-written by Geoff Simmons.

The study found that the New Zealand health system held up well in international comparisons, thanks to the hard work of the health professionals within it. However, the public’s expectations are rising faster than their incomes, so decision makers will be forced to make hard choices over how to allocate healthcare dollars in the future.

“In simple terms the current system does not apply resources efficiently or equitably, so it gets by as a result of some super-human efforts by health staff rather than by prudent prioritisation and the inequities go unaddressed.”

ENDS

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