Nurses v Health NZ: Our data interactive reveals the truth about hospital staffing
An investigation into 2025 hospital staffing data in New Zealand reveals that nearly a quarter of all nursing shifts were understaffed. The report highlights significant gaps in critical areas, including child cancer wards and high-risk maternity units, sparking disagreement between health authorities and nursing unions.
Why it matters
This data exposes systemic challenges in public healthcare delivery and the potential impact of staffing shortages on patient safety.
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It took journalist Danica MacLean months to get Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora to hand over this never-seen-before data: a record of almost every nursing shift in public clinics and hospitals in New Zealand for 2025. She was trying to understand the disconnect between what nurses have said about our hospitals – that they can be dangerously understaffed – and what Health NZ has said.
The data contained some shocks: our national child cancer ward fell to 41% of its target staffing across September – and there were nine days that month when no shifts met their nursing staff targets. MacLean and Chris Knox report.
The Herald has obtained official data revealing staffing levels for 739,503 hospital shifts across 615 wards in 67 health facilities across New Zealand in 2025.
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