Northland nurses celebrate International Nurses Day

Nurses throughout Northland will celebrate their profession on 12 May - International Nurses Day. This year's theme is "Delivering Quality, Serving Communities: Nurses Leading Primary Health Care", focusing on nurses working in the community.

Northland DHB is joining with Manaia Primary Health Organisation (PHO) to promote and celebrate nursing through a display in the entrance foyer at Whangarei Hospital.

There are around 1600 nurses based in Northland, in a variety of roles in both hospital and community settings, making up four per cent of the total Northland workforce. Nurses make up 42 per cent of the Northland District Health Board workforce, and there are around 60 GP practice nurses at Manaia PHO alone.

Denise Brewster-Webb, Northland DHB's Director of Midwifery and Nursing, said: "International Nurses Day is an opportunity to celebrate the profession and focus on the contribution of nurses to our health care system. This year we join our colleagues in the community to honour nurses working in primary health care, both within the DHB and across Northland."

Thanks to the evolution of nursing as a profession, there are a wide range of nursing roles in the primary health sector. These include: GP practice nurses; public health nurses; district nurses; palliative care nurses; cancer nurses; nurses working for iwi providers; nurses working for non-governmental organisations; Plunket nurses; nurse practitioners; mental health nurses; and specialist nurses (for example specialising in diabetes care). There are also a variety of management and leadership roles in the sector.

Mary Carthew, Nursing Integration Leader for Manaia PHO, said: "Primary health care nursing contributes greatly to the health and wellbeing of our communities, working closely with people in their homes, schools, GP practices and community settings. International Nurses Day is always a time to stop and reflect on the value and worth of nurses and nursing, and to celebrate their many and varied achievements."

New Zealand's Chief Nurse, Mark Jones, said: "Primary health care nursing is a crucial and essential means of delivering quality care to people around the world, and for many countries nurses are leading and providing the only health service individuals, families and communities have access to on a regular basis. Here is New Zealand we are in a rather more privileged position than some, and nurses work in multidisciplinary teams delivering quality care to our population."

He said that primary and secondary nursing were becoming more and more integrated: "Without efficient acute care systems, primary health care would not have the backup to deal with really complex care needs, and without primary health care, our acute care capacity would be soon overwhelmed."

International Nurses Day is held on 12 May each year - the birth date of Florence Nightingale.
 

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For further information, please contact:

Clare Blackburn, Communications Manager

Northland District Health Board 

Phone (09) 430 4101 ext 3315