This year, nurses employed in primary care will receive an 8 percent raise; however, they remain behind those who work in hospitals when it comes to compensation levels.
Tracey Morgan, who chairs the Nurses Organisation for primary healthcare, stated that according to the newly implemented multi-employer collective agreement, nurses will receive an instant pay rise of 5%, with another increment of 3% scheduled for July.
This is positive news for primary and community care nurses. Nonetheless, their starting pay per hour is still roughly 10 percent lower than that of Te Whatu Ora nurses, even though they possess equivalent skills and qualifications.
Unless primary and community care nurses receive equal pay, they will keep leaving GPs and iwi as well as community clinics for higher-paying positions at hospitals locally and abroad.
She mentioned that the union was pushing the government to uphold their pre-Election promise of ensuring primary care nurses receive the same wages as those employed in hospitals.
When individuals cannot access the healthcare they require within their local areas, they often wind up in hospitals much worse off. This adds further strain to our already overburdened medical facilities.
A recent study from Victoria University of Wellington revealed that 36 percent of primary care clinics in New Zealand did not accept new patients last year, primarily due to staffing shortfalls causing this exclusion.
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