Vacancies in nursing high

Press, 24 February 1987, Page 2

Vacancies in nursing high

Recent Health Department figures indicate that the shortage of nursing staff in Canterbury is above the national average, said the national director of the Nurses’ Society of .New Zealand, Mr David Wills, yesterday.

Departmental statistics indicated 112 registerednurse and 39 enrollednurse vacancies in the Canterbury region, Mr Wills said in Auckland. “This would be well above the national average,” he said. The figures, released last week, showed that New Zealand public hospitals had 1047 vacancies for registered and enrolled nurses at the end of December, 1986.

‘ The vacancies covered 804 registered-nurse vacancies and 207 in the enrolled-nurse sector.

According to Mr Wills, the figures showed that nursing shortages remained a problem. “Although the number of over-all vacancies is not as high as some of the worst periods in 1985, vacancy levels are high. The trend is upward, with the number of registerednurse vacancies increasing during the last six months.” He also warned that the department had understated the full extent of the shortages, including the loss of “experienced practitioners” overseas.

“While some nurses have been recruited from overseas, the numbers have been fairly modest. Only 200 have been appointed to area hospital and health boards throughout the country since April 1, 1986,” he said.