Nurses' union, DHB silent on 'rare' letter

The union representing Nelson Hospital nurses is being tight-lipped about the contents of a letter sent to the hospital board's chief executive.

Nelson Marlborough District Health Board chief executive John Peters confirmed he had received a letter from Nelson delegates of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation and that he would meet them today. He said only that they would discuss matters of common interest.

NZNO Nelson president Nano Tunnicliff said it was rare for union delegates to write directly to Mr Peters. "We are usually happy with the response we get from managers that we don't need to go to that level."

Ms Tunnicliff would not disclose the contents of the letter, but was confident the meeting would "go well".

Mr Peters said meetings with delegates took place "from time to time" and communication with the union was "frequent".

Nurses have publicly expressed concern over the last two weeks that the hospital board's belt-tightening to overcome a deficit and a policy to not replace staff had led to intolerable stress levels and staff shortages. The board has started implementing a recovery plan to address its deficit which has blown out to $2.28 million with a forecast deficit of $5.4m for the year. Most of the hospital's 850 nurses belong to the union.

Ms Tunnicliff acknowledged that nurses were stressed, but denied any patients' lives had been put at risk at the hospital. She said "extremely negative publicity" around the union's role during changes at the hospital was unjustified.

"There's already processes in place for changes for models of care which ensure patient safety at all times.

"The union is standing beside the nurses and supporting them."

Ms Tunnicliff said some nurses had spoken to the media because of quickly occurring changes at the hospital. "It puts health in a very awkward situation and that leads to frustration and sometimes ineffective communication."

She said there had been "constructive engagement with board management to look at solutions in a constructive manner" for the past couple of years.

"We are well aware of the extent of the problems and actively encourage and support members through the process when staffing issues have been identified.

- © Fairfax NZ News