Former ED nurse Sarah Kapene raised the purple NZNO flag as she rode her horse Pearl across the road outside the hospital grounds to the picket line.
ED nurse Collier is the third of four generations of healthcare workers. Daughter Eden Collier, mother Karen Macdonald and grandmother Alison Macdonald joined her on the picket line.
A family with four generations of healthcare workers joined the NZNO picket line. Eden Collier (from left), Karen MacDonald, Alison MacDonald and NZNO delegate Camille Collier.
“We’re not asking for more, we’re asking for enough,” Camille Collier said. “We just don’t feel that we’ve been heard. Nobody wants to strike but we feel we’ve got no other choice.”
The striking nurses were cheered by about 60 supporters, who wore purple and held up signs encouraging passing drivers to honk to show their support.
Representatives of the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union and the Public Service Association were there, as well as some general election candidates – the Green Party’s Jordan Walker and Heather Te Au Skipworth, and Te Pāti Māori’s Haley Maxwell.
Speaking to the Gisborne Herald, Dolman-Tuhou described the atmosphere as “amazing”.
“For a show-out like this, it’s amazing to see. [We are] so grateful, so thankful to have everyone’s support here today,” she said.
“We’re here today because the Gisborne Hospital emergency department has come to a point that is not sustainable for our patients, for our staff and for our community.
“We’ve lost a ton of nurses here in the last year and we’ve got to a breaking point now where it’s unsustainable in that department.
“We need more nurses. We’re fighting for our patients and we’re fighting for our community.”