Aged Care Commissioner Welcomes New Immigration Rules

The Aged Care Commissioner is welcoming the
Government’s decision to fast-track nurses, midwives, and
specialist doctors not already eligible, onto the
immigration ‘Green List’ by 15 December
2022.

These and other professions will get immediate
residency in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Carolyn Cooper says
the news could not have come sooner for the aged care
sector, which is bearing the brunt of an overstretched
health system.

“This will make a difference to the
quality and safety of care of older people in aged
residential care, those using home and community support
services, and those interacting with nurses, doctors, and
health professionals, in a health system experiencing severe
workforce shortages.

“Nurses working in aged care and
other important primary and community health settings have
only just received pay parity alongside nurses in
hospitals”.

Ms Cooper especially welcomes the Specific
Purpose work visa to help keep around 2,500 critical workers
in the country, many of whom were healthcare workers who
supported older people needing aged care since the onset of
COVID-19.

“These essential workers helped get New
Zealand through the worst of the pandemic. Now they, and
many other nurses and healthcare workers already in the
country, can continue contributing to our healthcare system
and society, in jobs that so many older people and their
families and whānau rely on”.

Background

The
Aged Care Commissioner:

– Advocates for quality of
health and disability services on behalf of older people and
their whānau.

– Provides strategic oversight and
leadership to drive quality improvement.

– Monitors
the responsiveness of the health and disability system to
the needs of older people.

– Analyses emerging issues
and reports on improvements in the aged-care sector.

–
Supports the Government’s commitment to Te Tiriti o
Waitangi.

For more information about the Aged Care
Commissioner visit https://www.hdc.org.nz/our-work/aged-care-commissioner/

About
the Health and Disability Commissioner

The HDC
promotes and protects the rights of people using health and
disability services as set out in the Code
of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights (the
Code).

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