Te Whatu Ora today launched legal action to stop nurses in Gisborne from striking.

Acute medical nurses at Gisborne Hospital plan to hold a one-hour strike this coming Wednesday to bring awareness to acute staff shortages, stress and untenable workloads.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation chief executive Paul Goulter says the nurses at Gisborne Hospital have been pushing for safe staffing levels since August 2022.

"What they tell us is some really important stuff about just how fatigued they are, the extra shifts, they're not getting breaks, all that sort of stuff. They just cannot cope any longer."

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