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Muriwai ward staff standing tall on Friday in their health and safety strike.<\/p>\nNurses and health-care assistants (HCAs) from Muriwai ward marched side-by-side out the main entrance of Wait\u0101kere Hospital on Friday \u2014 striking for safe staffing.<\/p>\n
The hour-long health and safety strike drew about 90 people, including former staff, to the streets of west Auckland.<\/p>\n
NZNO members had been raising health and safety concerns since April 2025 \u2014 the ward becoming a flashpoint for national concerns over understaffing.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the strike, media reported on how a patient suffered a broken spine while the ward was short three health-care assistants (HCAs). This came after repeated warnings during the day about severe capacity issues.<\/p>\n
The ward provides care for older people who have suffered strokes \u2014 and is the largest acute ward in Aotearoa.<\/p>\n
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NZNO delegate Gemma Bethell, who brought her son Theodore, 6, along, (\u201che loved it\u201d) said the strike was \u201chigh energy and really positive\u201d as former staff and workers from other parts of the hospital turned out to support about 40 Muriwai ward staff.<\/p>\n
Warning of further strikes if nothing changed, Bethell said staff were not prepared to back down on making their ward safer for patients \u2013 and themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not something we can back down on, because it\u2019s causing harm. Harm to the staff and potential harm to patients. Everyone\u2019s so burnt out and tired,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they\u2019re not prepared to meet us with some health and safety compromises and to address some of these concerns, I think there\u2019ll be further strikes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Muriwai ward staff standing tall on Friday in their health and safety strike.<\/p>\n
She acknowledged Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ (HNZ) had hired two more HCAs to fill vacancies \u2013 however it was refusing to change the base ratios.<\/p>\n
After raising their unsafe staffing concerns in May, staff were told at a meeting with Waitemat\u0101 district chief nurse Kate Gilmour that they would have to prove it by constantly updating the CAG (capacity at a glance) tool.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s not something we can back down on, because it\u2019s causing harm. Harm to the staff and potential harm to patients.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when you go into an emergency situation, you\u2019re not thinking \u2018oh, I better switch the CAG because there\u2019s six of us dealing with a code for the next 40 minutes \u2013 that\u2019s not where your mind goes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bethell said management didn\u2019t appear to want to hear nurses\u2019 and HCAs\u2019 real experiences on the floor. \u201cThey\u2019re not prepared to see the reality and level of harm it\u2019s doing, and burnout its creating for staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
What staff need<\/p>\n
One more nurse on morning shifts, to bring the ratio down from 5 to 4 patients per nurse.
\nOne more nurse on night shift to bring the ratio down from 11 to 8 patients per nurse.
\nOne more HCA on afternoons.<\/p>\n
Bethell said patients on the stroke ward required a lot of assistance \u2013 each time needing up to three people to help them go to the bathroom or shower.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not a ward where people are independently mobile. They are dependent for all activities of daily living.\u201d<\/p>\n
The health and safety walkout was held under the Employment Relations Act (section 84) which allows strikes if work is considered dangerous or unsafe.<\/p>\n
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There was full-on support for the strike on Friday. Photo: Enzo Giordani<\/p>\n