The New Zealand Nurses Organisation union has gone to the Employment Relations Authority in support of Gisborne Hospital Ward 5 nurse Christine Warrander after hospital managers threatened possible disciplinary action over a social media post.
Lawyers acting for NZNO/Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa said a Te Whatu Ora Tairāwhiti letter had a “chilling effect by creating fear in the recipient and others, especially where dismissal is threatened”.
Ms Warrander, interviewed in the latest NZNO magazine Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand, said, “I feel they’re coming after me —they’re trying to silence me.
“But I’m going to continue speaking up until the patients and staff are safe.”
On August 8, Ms Warrander answered a question from another NZNO member on a private NZNO Facebook page.
The question was: Can someone update me on what happened after Gisborne nurses issued a Provisional Improvement Notice (PIN) — which requires Te Whatu Ora to address a health and safety matter. Was there an improvement in their conditions?
Ms Warrander replied: “WorkSafe cancelled the PIN stating the hospital was working on improvements.
“There have been numerous meetings to try to improve things but on the whole not a huge improvement. We are keeping the pressure on though and are also looking at other avenues we can take.”
The NZNO delegate feared she that she had a target on her back since speaking out about unsafe staffing on Ward 5.
NZNO issued a PIN in December for Ward 5 in response to health and safety concerns arising from acute and persistent staff shortages and staffing levels.
Nurses say their staffing and safety concerns continue to be ignored.
“I did think I was going to be hung out to dry,” said Ms Warrander.
“I kind of figured when I stuck my neck out for the ward, that they’d come after me for something.”
When she received the letter from Te Whatu Ora Tairāwhiti demanding an explanation and referring to possible formal disciplinary action over the post, Ms Warrander said she felt sick to her stomach.
“I panicked. I went through all the emotions. I was kind of angry.”
NZNO members were contacted directly by NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter on Monday and informed that NZNO was giving full backing to Ms Warrander.
The Ward 5 nurse and NZNO delegate had “led a minor but highly effective and lawful strike about health and safety on May 24”.
Te Whatu Ora’s attempt to injunct the strike was dismissed by the Employment Court.
NZNO wrote to Te Whatu Ora stating that it did not accept intimidation of delegates.
The employer then withdrew the letter but also issued another one, “not as bad as the first but still totally unacceptable”.
Mr Goulter told NZNO members that the Employment Relations Authority would deal with issues of whether the actions of Te Whatu Ora were contrary to the employment agreement and unjustified.
“We will keep you up to date.
“NZNO will not tolerate threats of this type.”
Ms Warrander told Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand it was disappointing that Te Whatu Ora was putting its time and energy into this, rather than trying to fix the staffing problem on the 25-bed acute medical and Covid ward.
“We’re still coming on to shift where there’s only two of us on. A couple of weeks ago there was an enrolled nurse with a new grad.”
The situation had been extremely tough on her mental health, but she experienced “huge” support from colleagues and the general public, which had helped her carry on.
“I don’t want other people to be scared that they’re going to be silenced — and I don’t want other people being scared of speaking up for patient safety.
“So it’s like, I have to continue fighting for them.”