Hospice `angels' in flap over pay | Hawkes Bay News | Local News in Hawkes Bay

KATE NEWTON

It was a matter of fairness that had Cranford Hospice nurses standing on Hastings street corners yesterday.

Paid up to $1 less an hour than nurses at Hawke's Bay Hospital, the hospice nurses took their fair pay message to the public in hope they would show their support by signing letters to the Health Minister.

All 32 of Cranford's nurses staged protests at various sites in Hastings.

Known in the community as "the angels", the nurses wore halos and wings yesterday and unexpectedly ran out of letters.

More than 340 letters were signed, with some people taking them back to their workplace and bringing them back with up to 12 signatures.

"Nurses at public hospitals get up to $10,000 more a year and have better conditions such as sick leave and annual leave," Diane Reid, a registered nurse, said. "We are not getting rewarded for the amount of skill, commitment and dedication we provide.

"We can get called on at any time and often we do. I enjoy it but we need to be recognised for all the hard work it involves.

"It's hard to do when you don't feel valued."

Cranford Hospice receives funding for palliative care from the Hawke's Bay District Health Board but to make ends meet also needs to raise $500,000 a year from the local community - about 20 percent of their annual operation costs.

If Cranford gave its nurses pay parity with public hospital nurses, the cost would be an additional $180,000 a year.

Diane said Cranford had asked the DHB for further funding but understood they weren't in a position to do so without additional funding from the Government.

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation has written to the Minister of Health, Pete Hodgson, seeking the $2.5 million extra funding required for all 15 hospices nationwide.