National has spent two years boasting about hiring thousands of nurses, but the reality is brutal: there are just 54 more nurses in the public health system than there were two years ago.
“Fifty-four. That’s National’s nurse hiring record after two years in Government,” Labour campaign chair Kieran McAnulty said.
“Christopher Luxon said his secret cuts wouldn’t affect the frontline – but when you strip away the spin and look at the actual growth in the nursing workforce in Northland for example, it’s gone backwards. There are actually 67 fewer nurses than two years ago.
“And in Waikato, there are 54 fewer nurses. In the Bay of Plenty they are down 16 nurses.
“That is an extraordinary failure when our hospitals are under pressure, emergency departments are overflowing and frontline staff are being pushed to breaking point.
“Christpher Luxon has once again broken his promise and our regional hospitals cannot afford another three years of this mess. More cuts mean more pain, and higher costs for patients.
“New Zealand trains excellent nurses. We have graduate nurses ready and willing to work. We should be giving them a job here, not leaving them on the sidelines or forcing them to look overseas. Labour will ensure every New Zealand trained graduate nurse has a job offer.
“Labour will invest in better jobs, affordable healthcare and bringing household costs under control, so people can get ahead and build a future here at home,” said Kieran McAnulty.
