Corrections marks International Nurses Day

May 2016

Corrections marks International Nurses Day

Corrections’ is celebrating the work of nurses who work in prisons today, International Nurses Day.

“Nursing behind bars is a nursing career like no other, with nurses completing more than 100,000 consultations with prisoners every year,” says Bronwyn Donaldson, Director Offender Health.

As a group of patients, prisoners are some of the most vulnerable and have disproportionately higher health needs than many in the community. Often nurses in prison are the first health care professionals that people coming to prison have seen in quite some time.

“The prison environment is quite different from the world outside the wire. Our nurses work in a challenging but rewarding environment, where the ability to be resilient and flexible is key to dealing with some complex workloads,” says Ms Donaldson.

Corrections employs more than 200 nurses, team leaders and health centre managers to deliver primary health services to prisoners. Daily tasks include comprehensive health screenings when a prisoner is received into prison or transferred between prisons, and dealing with a wide range of health issues (from those with minor needs, to people who are terminally ill). If required, prisoners can be referred to DHB health services based on the same eligibility criteria as the public.

“Nurses in prison play a significant role in improving the wellbeing of prisoners,” says Ms Donaldson. “Responding to prisoners’ health needs enables them to better engage in rehabilitation, education and employment opportunities that reduce their risk of re-offending.”

International Nurses Day promotes the contribution made by nurses across health care services around the world. It is marked on 12 May, the anniversary of the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the English social reformer and the founder of modern nursing. This year the theme of International Nurses Day is “Improving Health Systems’ resilience”.

More information about working as a nurse in prison is available here: http://www.corrections.govt.nz/careers/types_of_careers/offender_facing_roles/nurse.html

ENDS

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