The potential loss of nurse leadership roles as a result of mergers in the deep south is of major concern, says an NZNO spokeswoman.
Cathy Gilmore, professional nursing advisor for the New Zealand Nurses Organisation said up to six nursing leader posts could be lost due to the mergers of boards and primary health organisations.
The former Otago and Southland District Health Boards merged their 4500 staff to become the Southern DHB on May 1 and the nine primary health organisations in the two regions are to merge to form the Southern PHO from October 1.
Gilmore called for the new board to step back and reconsider cuts that would result in the loss of infrastructure and support for good nursing practice in the region.
She said the boards currently had four nursing directors for each region plus an executive director and deputy director position covering both Otago and Southland. The new proposal is to retain a chief nursing and midwifery officer, with five full-time equivalent nursing directors beneath that post covering both regions.
Leanne Samuel, executive director of nursing and midwifery for the merging boards, would not comment on changes to nursing leadership under the board merger as she said consultation was still under way.
Conway Powell, chair of the PHO transition board, said it was committed to nursing and professional development, but cuts to nursing leadership “may be the case” as funding was going to be “tight”.
The new merged PHO’s management funding would drop from $2.8 million across the 9 PHOs to $1.7 million when it merged into one.
Gilmore said the restructuring decisions flew in the face of the health minister’s call for the strengthening of clinical leadership. “High level nursing leadership positions are necessary for ongoing education and clinical support for nurses, especially given the isolation of the rural areas in the region,” she said.
Alex Craig, head of the national directors of mental health nursing, said members were conscious of the merger and it was probably inevitable it would lead in some cases to two roles being replaced with a single role. The difficulties arose when the geographic area being covered was large.
