Source: New Zealand Nurses Organisation
The Nursing Council chief executive is latest in a string of resignations after its board was gutted by Health Minister Simeon Brown, NZNO says.
Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku says Nursing Council staff were told today that Catherine Byrne has resigned her role as chief executive.
“Catherine Byrne is a respected nurse leader who has steered the Nursing Council through important developments including introducing new nursing standards and Te Tiriti-led cultural competency guidance, kawa whakaruruhau.
“Her departure follows three other recent departures from the Council’s executive team; the chief nursing education advisor and two legal advisors.
“The Councils’ executive are leaving in droves. This is the direct result of the Minister’s gutting of the Council’s board.
“Since late last year, Simeon Brown has replaced eight existing members, despite four of them wanting to stay on. Of the remaining four, two internationally qualified nurses resigned in protest and the other two members did not seek reappointment,” Kerri Nuku says.
The changes at the Nursing Council echo changes at the Medical Council which the Minister said were made because of their “ideological agenda (https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/361024008/simeon-brown-ousts-medical-council-leadership-over-ideological-agenda)”.
“Simeon Brown has now gone after the Nursing Council because it rightly believed that improving the health outcomes of Māori through culturally safe care was better for all of Aotearoa New Zealand,” Kerri Nuku says.