April 24, 2020
Kai mahi hauora upset by inconsistent guidelines
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation want to see a standardised national framework for responding to COVID-19.
It says the Ministry of Health and DHBs continue to lack consistency and consensus, with conflicting communications and highly variable guidelines putting nurses and health care workers at risk.
Sandy Richardson from the College of Emergency Nurses and Steve Kirby from the College of Critical Care Nurses says a framework could help around things like the need for separate physical placement of patients to minimise infection.
They say health care workers kai mahi hauora are facing a triple wave of increased demand from ongoing COVID-19 cases; the move to rāhui level 3 which will see more people seeking attention for non-COVID-19 health problems; and the worsening health scenario that always comes with winter.
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