The Southern District Health Board says it is making good progress on hiring the extra nurses it needs to meet safe staffing requirements.
Last year, as part of the settlement to the long-running employment dispute between DHBs and members of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO), health boards signed up to a nationwide agreement which would result in additional nurses being employed to improve their own and patient safety.
The board was allocated $2.46million as its share of $38million funding nationwide to recruit new nurses.,
So far, it had recruited staff for 26 additional "safe staffing" full-time-equivalent nursing roles, board chief nursing and midwifery officer Jane Wilson said.
"Recruitment continues for some more hard-to-fill roles such as in maternity."
All DHBs are required to fully implement the safe-staffing changes by June 2021, and Ms Wilson said the board was on track to deliver on that commitment.
Local NZNO organiser Lorraine Lobb said the union was working closely with the board on safe staffing and was pleased with the progress.
"They have always been committed to this right from the outset and we fully agree," Ms Lobb said.
"The other side of the coin is that in the meantime people are leaving, so there are vacancies that exist ... If you were to ask a nurse in the street they would probably say we were still short of staff, because of the churn of people."
The Ministry of Health has posted semi-regular updates on progress towards safe staffing.
The most recent, released in May, said Health Minister David Clark was considering a work programme on a range of strategies for nurse retention and return to practice.
"The minister endorsed the recommendation that all newly graduated nurses will be employed within six months and requested this timeframe is shortened, if at all possible," the report said.
"The minister has formally indicated his support for a supported transition to practice programme for new graduate enrolled nurses."
