Principals protest looming cuts to school nurse service

Bishop Viard College principal Chris Theobald and the heads of Porirua College, Aotea College, Tawa College and Mana College sent a letter to Health New Zealand expressing alarm at a proposed “withdrawal of essential healthcare from a vulnerable population”.

The School Based Health Service (SBHS), delivered by Tū Ora Compass Health, is under review amid funding pressure – with staffing set to drop from 8.7 full time staff to just 4.1 from 2027 if no additional funding is found.

“Currently, our school nurses are a critical lifeline for our rangatahi (young people),” the principals wrote. “In Porirua and Tawa, the demand for these services is already significantly oversubscribed. Our health clinics manage complex presentations including chronic physical conditions, acute mental health crises and social stressors that directly impact a student’s ability to engage in education.”

They said the cuts would worsen health inequities and would place increased pressure on secondary care.

The principals sought a commitment for a “funding uplift”. It should reflect “the actual cost of delivery and the true level of need in our communities”.

Tū Ora Compass Health chief executive Justine Thorpe said demand for the service had grown significantly in both volume and complexity, with more repeat visits and rising need for mental health and psychosocial support. But while the workload has intensified, funding has not kept pace.

Ms Thorpe said the programme operates within a capped, nationally set funding model that has failed to reflect rising costs and increasing school rolls.

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Principals ‘deeply alarmed’ as school nurses could be slashed by half (By Andrea Vance/The Post – subscription required)