New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) delegate Lesley Pook has worked as a nurse for 35 years and said this year has been the worst she’s ever seen<\/a> for the health sector. <\/p>\n NZNO delegate Lesley Pook has worked as a nurse for 35 years. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n “We had to defer 500 patients from across Waitemat\u0101 in the last month,” she said.<\/p>\n “We were told by someone in upper management that we weren’t allowed give gold standard care anymore. We had to be giving bronze care. Which, to me, is unacceptable.”<\/p>\n Pook was visibly emotional when saying it was up to the Government to take responsibility for the state of the healthcare system.<\/p>\n In another recount shared with the crowd at the meeting in Northcote, nurse of three years Sophie Tomes said the workloads can be crushing and she has worked shifts which she described as “traumatic”. <\/p>\n Five hours into a 12-hour shift, she was experiencing such extreme pain that she ended up in the emergency department herself with appendicitis. <\/p>\n Tomes said she waited more than 24 hours in the corridors of the hospital before having surgery.<\/p>\n Nurse of three years Sophie Tomes said the workloads can be crushing and she has work shifts which she described as “traumatic”. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n “Having experienced the healthcare system as both a nurse and a patient, it is clear there has been a failure to adequately plan,” she said.<\/p>\n As a nurse it was her job to care for patients, but she asked: “Who is caring for us? “We cannot continue on this path. Our public health system was hard fought for, and we must fight for it again.”<\/p>\n A recent patient of the North Shore Hospital Sarah Beck said she could clearly see how understaffed the wards were.<\/p>\n “The staff shortage was really noticeable. I was really quite distressed by what was happening in the medical ward I was in,” Beck said.<\/p>\n Another patient recalled getting open heart surgery, only to find cockroaches in the shower of the recovery ward. <\/p>\n The Nurses Organisation, which called the meeting, said it had extended an invite to all the major political parties.<\/p>\n Labour’s Shanan Halbert, New Zealand First’s Daryl Harbraken, the Green’s H\u016bhana Lyndon and Opportunity’s Daniel Eb were there to respond to the pleas of nurses and patients. <\/p>\n National and ACT were not in attendance and Pook said they “should be really ashamed”.<\/p>\n ‘Exhaustion has now boiled over’<\/p>\n![\"NZNO](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nzno-delegate-lesley-pook-has-worked-as-a-nurse-for-35-years-UXHLNQNK3RBL3JF32MV5PGIACE.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Nurse](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/nurse-of-three-years-sophie-tomes-said-the-workloads-can-be-QLK34T6UEBHDVOEUIFGR73PJ6Y.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"Gill](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/gill-in-hospital-2-3R22DM4WH5EO7KMWZVE4Q2A3ZM.jpg\")
<\/p>\n