Zambia's Health Workers Speak Out: 'We Are Exhausted' While Politicians Make Promises
Health workers in New Zealand have taken a stand against a crumbling healthcare system, and their message resonates far beyond the Pacific. Nurses, doctors and frontline staff are saying what many Zambians feel: the system is broken, and politicians are not listening.
At a community election forum in Gisborne, organised by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO), a union representing 65,000 healthcare workers, six frontline staff delivered speeches that painted a grim picture of a system under siege. About 200 people attended the event at the House of Breakthrough Church.
Five candidates from the East Cape and Ikaroa-Rāwhiti electorates faced tough questions from an exhausted workforce. Labour's Jo Luxton, the Green Party's Jordan Walker, the Opportunity Party's Cail Smith, Labour's Cushla Tangaere-Manuel and Te Pāti Māori's Haley Maxwell all took part. Notably absent was East Cape MP Dana Kirkpatrick, who was reportedly sick.
What questions did the candidates face?
The candidates were asked four direct questions and had to answer yes or no, followed by a two-minute speech. The questions covered:
- Employing all EIT nursing students upon graduation
- Fully funding public hospitals to end reliance on the private system
- Committing to safe staffing levels in hospitals
- Ensuring fair pay for healthcare workers
Four of the five candidates answered yes to all questions. Only Smith said no to two, citing a lack of specifics on how all graduates would be employed and how reliance on private providers could be ended overnight.
“Ideally, when you properly fund a health system, there will be the jobs for them and the different health authorities have the capacity to actually hire the people they need,” Smith said.
He pointed to his party's proposal to increase healthcare funding from 7.4% of GDP to 9%, arguing that locking in a percentage would ensure funding grows as the economy grows.
What are nurses saying about the state of healthcare?
Renal unit nurse and NZNO delegate Rebecca Searle did not mince words. She told reporters that nurses and delegates were “exhausted” and that stories from across New Zealand were “horrific”.
“I don't know how we can continue as it is, and that's right from your iwi providers, GP, everything,” Searle said.
Acute care nurse Christine Warrander said she hoped the pressure stayed on the candidates after the forum. “I hope they do actually stick to their word, which I mean, the proof will be in the pudding,” she said.
Are healthcare workers leaving the country?
Ngāti Porou Oranga rural health nurse Gina Chaffey-Aupouri delivered a stark warning: healthcare workers are “leaving in droves to go overseas”.
“Our doctors are limited. They're leaving us and we're left with the nurses to triage and sometimes it could be at the detriment. We have to assess, do the clinical reasoning, we have to refer them, we have to get on a telehealth, because there's no doctor. We've got four of us prescribers, and thank God for that. Our health is vital, our care for our people is vital, and if you run the trough dry, there's nothing else to do.”
GP Emma Clare said wait times were “unacceptable” and that patients were deteriorating while waiting for care. “The problem doesn't go away while they're waiting; it gets worse,” she said.
Clare also called for adequate pay, arguing that the skillset, years of study and responsibility carried by health workers should be properly remunerated.
Three Rivers Medical nurse Aliya Evans said she was “tired of watching how people struggle every day”.
How did Health New Zealand respond?
Health NZ acknowledged the concerns raised by nursing staff at Gisborne Hospital and said it remained committed to providing quality healthcare. It pointed to an opinion piece by acting group director of operations for Tairāwhiti, Nejat Zeyneloglu, who claimed the emergency department had “continued to provide safe and timely care” despite winter pressures.
Zeyneloglu said Health NZ was reviewing emergency department nursing staffing levels across Tairāwhiti to ensure appropriate workforce capability.
What can Zambia learn from this?
This story should hit home for every Zambian. Our own health workers are overworked, underpaid and underappreciated. Our doctors and nurses are leaving for greener pastures while our government makes promises it does not keep.
Zambia must learn from this example. We cannot afford to let our health system collapse while our leaders play politics. Our people deserve better. Our health workers deserve better. It is time to put Zambians first and demand accountability from those who hold power.
The voice of the people must be heard. The voice of our nurses, our doctors, our frontline heroes must be heard. If we do not act now, we will be the ones left exhausted, with a system that has run dry.
Zed Nation stands with health workers everywhere. Our health is our wealth. Protect it.