Protesters outside Simeon Brown's office in Pakuranga, 2 September 2025. Photo: Felix Walton / RNZ
- More than 36,000 Nurses Organisation members are striking 7am - 11pm, Tuesday and Thursday.
- Health NZ estimates 2250 planned procedures, 3600 first specialist appointments and 8000 follow-up appointments will be postponed due to the strikes.
Nearly 14,000 patients are having operations, procedures and appointments postponed this week, during two days strike action by Nurses Organisation (NZNO) members.
It follows nearly a year of deadlocked negotiations between the union and Health NZ, which culminated in a 24-hour strike at the end of July.
Health NZ chief executive Dr Dale Bramley. Photo: Supplied / Te Whatu Ora
Health NZ chief executive Dr Dale Bramley said the agency was committed to ensuring patient safety during the strikes, which he was "deeply concerned will result in delays to treatment, services and care for an estimated 13,850 patients".
"Contingency plans are in place to ensure those who need care the most will still be able to receive it, but the planned strikes will see our hospitals disrupted for the entire week," he said.
"They will cause further delay to patients waiting for treatment, disrupt treatment and care for those already in hospital and set back our work to improve access to services."
More than 300 graduate nurses who were due to start work on Monday have had their start date delayed a week as a result of the industrial action, he said.
"We have listened to our nurses' concerns on safe services and the employment of graduate nurses and we are ready and willing to work with the union on solutions.
"We are absolutely committed to ensuring that we have the right staff and skill mix to deliver quality, safe patient care."
However, NZNO president Anne Daniels said management was refusing to give any guarantee on safe staffing levels, which were critical to patient care.
"It's unprecedented to have two full-day strikes within one week.
"That reflects to me the extreme anger that our members have towards Health NZ and the government over not putting on the table something we can talk about.
"Our minister of health keeps telling us to come back to the table, but nothing new is put on the table - so what is the point?"
Protesters outside Simeon Brown's office in Pakuranga, 2 September 2025. Photo: Felix Walton / RNZ
NZNO delegate Noreen McCallan said the two-day strike action was not taken lightly by members.
"We are doing this because we fear for the safety of our patients. We will lose two days' pay for striking but we are standing up for safe staffing because it is the right thing to do.
"We became health workers because we want to care for people. But staff shortages have become overwhelming and exhausting for many of us. Our patients are suffering longer because we can't get to them as quickly as we should."
NZNO members will spending their strike time doing a range of activities including hikoi, pickets, candlelight vigils, food bank drivers, blood bank donations, sausage sizzles and BBQs.
Hospitals and all emergency departments would remain open during the strike, with a small number of staff providing life-preserving services.
'Actually, we're doing pretty well'
Health New Zealand's Dr Richard Sullivan said he did not believe the country's hospitals were understaffed.
Health New Zealand chief clinical officer Dr Richard Sullivan. Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel
The NZNO said Health NZ had obstructed the release of 'shifts below target' data, which showed nearly a third of shifts went understaffed.
Health New Zealand chief clinical officer Dr Richard Sullivan said other measurements more accurately described patient safety in the country's hospitals.
"That's things like falls, pressure injuries, whether we're getting infections in hospital and - dare I say it - whether people die in hospital.
"We released a report earlier this year which showed actually, we're doing pretty well in those spaces. Over the last three years we've been pretty stable."
Sullivan said wait times for specialist appointments and elective surgery were the biggest current risks to patient safety in the country's hospitals.
Health NZ's advice:
- People requiring non-emergency care should contact their GP or call Healthline on 0800 611 116 in the first instance.
- All emergency departments will remain open.
- Patients in hospital will receive safe care.
- Unless patients are contacted directly, they should attend any scheduled outpatient appointment or treatment.
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