Counties Manukau DHB needs at least an extra $21 million

Counties Manukau DHB needs at least an extra $21 million

New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) delegate, registered nurse and midwife Judith Couch is calling on the Government to invest at least an extra $21 million over what is expected in Thursday’s Budget for Counties Manukau DHB, just to maintain Counties Manukau’s health care services.

“I choose to be a nurse and a midwife because when I was a child my Grandfather got sick and I wanted to help make him better. Nursing and midwifery are about improving the quality of people’s lives and helping them stay as well as they possibly can.” she says.

“But now, the impact of underfunding health in my area means that there are times when we are understaffed, so we cannot provide care as well as we would like because of heavy workloads. First-time mums sometimes go home before they are totally confident about breastfeeding and caring for their baby.”

“The nursing team has been doing more with less for years. It’s getting to the point that we’re really worried about our colleagues, our patients, our jobs and the level of health care available for Counties Manukau."

“We’re nurses. We want to provide high quality care for everyone who needs it and that’s what we’d prefer to be doing. But when the health system is underfunded by over a billion dollars– we have to speak up. New Zealanders need to know what’s actually going on.”

“If health were funded properly, we would all work holistically alongside educators and social workers to improve things like housing that have a big impact on community health. I would also give every baby born in this country a wahakura (woven flax bassinet) filled with the basic essential items a new born needs to keep them safe and warm. We need to do more than patch up the worst problems- we want the resources to empower whole communities to stay well.”

“We think people in Counties Manukau want great healthcare they can access where and when they need it, too.”

Ends.

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