Too few nurses for transplants — nurse unions

Press, 11 October 1986, Page 12

Too few nurses for transplants — nurse unions

PA Wellington New Zealand does not have enough specialised nurses to support the high level of care required for a heart transplant programme, say nursing organisations. Nursing shortages were one of the biggest obstacles to any new hospital service, and were already a notable factor in New Zealand’s long waiting lists for other cardiac surgery, said the Nurses’ Society’s national director, Mr David Wills. The society’s policy had been against heart transplants being performed in New Zealand, but nurses were being asked if the policy needed to be revised, he said. The Nurses’ Association’s executive director,

Miss Pat Carroll, said more specialist nurses would have to be trained if heart transplants were performed. She said hospitals could not generally allow nurses to attend specialist education programmes because of staff shortages. There was no national course available at present. However, a Wellington Hospital report assessing the hospital’s ability to perform heart transplants said it appeared there would be little difficulty in recruiting sufficient specialist nurses.

Both Mr Wills and Miss Carroll said they found it difficult to believe the nurses could be found, and if they were they would probably leave gaps in other services.