Health NZ says staffing improving after nurses warn of worsening workload
Wednesday, 22 July 2026
Health Minister Simeon Brown says it will “take time” to rebuild services and address workforce shortages at Nelson Hospital, but insists the Government has a “clear plan”.
His comments come after nearly 200 frontline staff across Nelson Marlborough warned management earlier this month they were facing growing workloads and burnout despite a series of changes aimed at improving care.
In a letter obtained by the Nelson Mail, New Zealand Nurses Organisation delegates said nurses, healthcare assistants and midwives felt largely excluded from a recent leadership review and had little confidence it would address their concerns.
The review followed an independent investigation commissioned in 2025 after senior doctors and nurses warned chronic staffing shortages had left Nelson Hospital at 'rock bottom', contributing to waiting lists of more than 37,000 patients.
A $10.6 million emergency department expansion was completed in April with 28 permanent senior doctors, nurses and allied health staff roles filled since.
But delegates said the additional medical staff had increased workloads for many nurses without the resources to support them. One nurse said she felt she was 'drowning' under her workload and was forced to ration care every day.
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora, which did not respond to questions before publication last week despite repeated requests, has now responded.
The Health Minister has also answered questions sent to him on Monday.
Brown said the Government was investing in hospital infrastructure, including a major redevelopment, while continuing to recruit frontline staff.
He said rebuilding services, strengthening leadership, and addressing workforce shortages would take time, but that work was underway.
The Government expected performance to improve as the changes took effect and would report progress against its health targets.
“Our priority is ensuring the people of Nelson remain at the centre of this work.”
The union’s letter was sent to Nelson Marlborough chief nurse Sandy McLean-Cooper.
In response to questions, McLean-Cooper said the region's healthcare needs had grown in scale and complexity as the population had aged.
It now required a leadership structure “fit for purpose now and in the future”.
The leadership review remained in its pre-engagement phase, with no decisions made.
She said staff and unions had been invited to provide feedback through meetings, a staff hui and discussions with nursing delegates and managers.
The proposed structure aimed to bring decision-making closer to clinicians, improve accountability and strengthen the delivery of care.
An interim leadership structure introduced earlier this year, including two interim general manager roles, had received mostly positive feedback for improving access to leaders and decision-making, she said.
Nursing staffing had also increased steadily over the past year, she said.
This included more associate charge nurse managers, radiology nurses and practitioner interns, as well as 13.1 full-time equivalent ED nurses and healthcare assistants.
“The leadership structure review is a separate process which complements but does not replace work on frontline clinical staffing levels,” she said.
“We will continue to prioritise frontline clinical staffing and models of care that reflect demand.”
But NZNO president Anne Daniels said Health NZ’s response showed how concerns raised by frontline nurses had been “completely lost”.
“Once again it’s all about physicians and middle management and not nurses.”
Daniels questioned whether hiring 13.1 more FTE nurses was adequate for the “ballooning workload” hospital nurses faced.
“Almost 200 union members would not have put their names to a letter raising concerns about dangerous and unsafe staffing levels.”
She said nurses were “constantly at breaking point”, which had now become the norm.
Most of the new nurses had been employed to staff the expanded emergency department and were still insufficient to meet safe staffing to patient calculations.
“There is still not enough room, staff or resources within the hospital to accommodate the numbers coming through the front door.
“It’s a bottleneck caused by full wards – often referred to as bed block. That means patients get into ED but then there’s no room to be properly admitted into the hospital because it is at capacity.”
Daniels said additional nurses and healthcare assistants had been recruited to replace staff leaving the profession because of relentless workloads, retirement and attrition.
Health NZ's focus on bringing decision-making closer to clinicians reinforced nurses’ concerns that the review was too narrowly focused on medical leadership rather than frontline nursing.
“Consulting us about management reporting lines is not the same as fixing unsafe staffing levels,” she said.