The Government has announced it will partner with soap opera Shortland Street to promote nursing as a career, says Health Minister Andrew Little.
Little told reporters on Monday that the Government's campaign to recruit more nurses will be "integrated" into the show's storyline.
The Health Minister said the collaboration with Shortland Street would "attract more young people into nursing careers and to encourage nurses to return to practice".
When asked if it was being paid for by the Government, Little said he was "not aware" of any funding being involved in the partnership.
It's part of the latest range of initiatives to attract staff as the health system struggles with pressure from Covid-19 and the flu season.
The scheme has attracted criticism from ACT's health spokesperson Brooke van Velden, who called it "absurd".
"Our health workforce is exhausted, and patients are at risk. We should be attracting nurses here immediately, not using a fictional TV show," said van Velden.
"In a ridiculous plot twist, the Government’s answer to the nursing shortage is to partner with Shortland St to promote nursing while it stubbornly refuses to put nurses on the immigration Green List."
Currently, migrant nurses are not eligible for residency until they have spent two years in the country.
On Monday, Little announced a raft of measures to try and boost staff numbers in the health system as absences had been "extreme over the past few weeks".
READ MORE: Health crisis: New measures to attract overseas staff
Changes include making it easier for overseas staff to get registered in New Zealand, while international nurses will get up to $10,000 to pay for their registration.
Little is writing to a range of authorities, such as Immigration NZ and the Nurses Council, to reduce the time it takes to get registered.
International doctors will get their salaries covered over a six-week bridging programme and three-month training internships.
The Government will also cover up to $5000 of the cost of re-registering for New Zealand nurses to return to work.
This scheme was piloted previously and saw about 200 nurses go back into the health work force. That scheme is now being expanded.
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