National's proposed policy to keep nurses and midwife graduates in New Zealand "doesn't go far enough", according to Keri Nuku from the New Zealand Nurses Organisation.
The policy would see nurses and midwife graduates who stay in Aotearoa for five years have more than $22,000 of their student loans paid off.
Party leader Christopher Luxon said it would discourage the nurses and midwives from taking up "aggressive" offers from abroad.
Speaking to Breakfast this morning, Nuku said the proposed policy is a step in the right direction but it doesn't relieve enough of the pressure.
"There is a lot of pressure placed on students when they're training, going to different areas for placement, the different life events, the increases in the cost of living, those types of things are real pressures.
She said the proposal is just "part of a plan" and if politicians keep "adding piecemeal parts" the systemic issues will never be addressed.
She added that getting students to enrol at nursing school and getting them to see the degree through are equally as challenging.
"If we offer these incentives, there's no guarantee that it's going to change the work environment that they going into.
"The quality of care that we're able to provide, the lack of resourcing that we're given, the lack of investment by this government and previous governments has meant that there's an undermining if nursing.
"So it's not just about fixing or offering some incentives, it's about fixing the workplace environment across the whole sector."
Yesterday, Health Minister Ayesha Verrall also said the policy "won't mean much" and that it missed the key issues within the sector.
"One of the most important things we can do for health professionals is to raise their pay so they are attracted into the workforce and stay there. That's what we're doing."
She said the "most effective way to grow our nursing workforce is to pay them more".
Verrall claimed National was using a "desperate tactic" in relation to a figure suggested by the party that 19,000 nurses have left New Zealand in the past. That figure included those who had moved to other nursing roles in New Zealand.
SHARE ME