Health NZ is filling nursing vacancies as official data shows a quarter of hospital shifts were understaffed last year.
Health New Zealand is ramping up nurse recruitment with nearly 2,400 roles actively being filled, but new data reveals a quarter of all hospital shifts last year were understaffed, raising questions about how quickly the pipeline can close the gap.
As of 14 August, 2,378 FTE nursing roles were being actively recruited across Health New Zealand. Of those, 475 nurses have accepted offers and are preparing to join the workforce.
A further 459 New Zealand-trained graduates have been matched to roles since July, with the Northern region absorbing the largest share at 214 positions, followed by Central (92), the South Island (86), and Midland (67).
Health NZ has committed to offering up to 1,800 graduate nursing positions over the coming year across a range of specialties and locations.
National Chief Nurse Nadine Gray said the push reflects the organisation's commitment to workforce sustainability.
"Nursing is a career like no other. There are excellent opportunities right across the health system, whether it's in a hospital, community service, primary care clinic or in mental health," Gray said.
Understaffed wards
The recruitment drive comes as the New Zealand Herald published data revealing that 185,711 shifts, or 24.5% of all nursing shifts across the country in 2025, were understaffed against Health NZ's own targets. Almost half of all wards were understaffed more than a quarter of all shifts.
Mental health and emergency services emerged as the worst-affected areas. New Zealand Nurses Organisation delegate Noreen McCallan said more than a third of emergency departments were understaffed more than half the time last year, and eight of the ten most understaffed wards nationally were mental health wards.
"Most worryingly, one in ten mental health wards were understaffed for more than 80% of all shifts last year," McCallan said.
NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter said the figures pointed to a systemic failure to meet patient need.
"Patients' needs won't be met in the way they need to be met. That creates a lot of stress on the nurses because they want to do the best thing for their patients, and they can't do that because the shift is understaffed," Goulter said as quoted by the Herald.
Gray disputed the framing, telling the Herald the shift data were a snapshot measure that sometimes represented "five minutes or less of under-resourcing within a ward over an eight-hour shift" and should not be used in isolation to assess patient safety or care quality.
Alongside recruitment, Health NZ is set to announce eligible categories for the 2026 Voluntary Bonding Scheme, which offers retention incentive payments to recently qualified health professionals after three, four, and five years of practice in high-need specialties and communities.
