24 July, 2026

Nurses’ group: Health needs more than band-aids

Winter is a busy time for the health services. Alisha McLennan spoke to Nurses Organisation delegates at North Shore Hospital about the challenges on the front line.

Jean Moor… ‘Tsunami of patients’

Staffing shortages at North Shore Hospital are increasingly noticeable for nurses on the front line this winter, says a New Zealand Nurses Organisation delegate.
NZNO delegate Jean Moor says she was told about one shift that reached more than 200 per cent capacity. On one occasion this week, 100 patients were present in the ED at one time (it has a capacity of 40), 54 of which were waiting to be seen.
She says nurses described the day as a “tsunami of patients”, with no end in sight.
Fellow NZNO delegate Jean Classey says these numbers are being reached more often, and as a charge nurse at North Shore Hospital, she has encountered two shifts with numbers of up to 90 in the ED in the past fortnight.
Moor is also a charge nurse at the hospital, with a career spanning 35 years. She says understaffing and poor nurse-patient ratios have been consistent issues throughout her career.
For some shifts, people have to stand while waiting, and up to 42 patients can be waiting on assessments, observations and treatment from just two nurses, while another two nurses are constantly triaging incoming patients.

“This means treatments are delayed and patients are spending longer in the emergency department. Short staffing puts people’s lives at risk and extends their length of stay, which costs more money in the long run,” says Moor.
“Senior staff are feeling overwhelmed, and I for one am concerned with what winter will look like.”
Both delegates say nurses’ biggest fear is having a patient die in an ED corridor or the waiting room because they could not get back to them in time.
NZNO has 2172 members at North Shore Hospital alone, and Moor says the organisation is helping more and more nurses find their voice.
“More nurses are joining the cause nationwide. We are now getting younger nurses and overseas nurses joining up,” she says.
She emphasises that the nurses are not targeting their employer or the hospital, but believe it is the government which needs to reprioritise.
“They have chosen to understaff and underfund hospitals but have found money for tobacco companies, property speculators and a large defence budget. We have spent less on health per capita compared to other countries,” she argues.

Shortages have been exacerbated by the government’s recruitment freeze announced in 2024, which she says has affected the front line – despite promises made when the freeze was announced.
“We need more beds, more staff and facilities that are fit for purpose. The health system needs more than band-aids – it needs help,” she says.
Classey says another factor affecting the pressure being felt at North Shore Hospital is the large number of junior staff compared to seniors. Meanwhile, many experienced nurses have retired.
“Nobody wants to be a senior nurse because you don’t get rewarded for it financially,” she says.
When a new nurse is trained up to standard, she says, they will often go on their OE, meaning the hospital loses that staff member for a time, possibly forever. If a hospital nurse leaves, it is typically for better conditions in the UK or Australia.
“You have to be a certain type of person to work here, the ED is a unique place,” she says, and once they are trained, some nurses decide the environment is not for them.
During university training, she says, more clinical practice needs to be included alongside the theory. Classey suggests this could be incentivised by paid placements. Under the current system, she says, “a lot of [training nurses] fall by the wayside because they can’t afford to do their placements.”
Moor says the public can support the cause by “voting for health”. “The public are incredible and very understanding. They can see what pressures we’re under.”

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