Hauora
Health
Nurses, like any member of the public, can have significant issue with their health, that may affect their ability to safely practice. If you have concerns about the mental or physical health of a nurse (including alcohol or substance use disorders) and you believe that the condition may be affecting the nurse's ability to practise, you may notify the Council in writing of those concerns.
Please use the Concern about a Nurse Form in the top-right of this page. If you want to discuss your concerns further before deciding about completing a form, please call our nurse advisor on 04 381 9098. The Council’s health process is a supportive process.
The Council may require the nurse to have a health assessment. If the assessment identifies a health concern that may affect practice, the nurse is given the opportunity to meet with a Health Committee before any decisions about practice are made.
The nurse may have conditions included in their scope of practice (such as employer approval and monitoring of the health condition) to enable them to practise safely in a supportive place of employment. In some cases, nurses may have their registration suspended until they are well enough to return to practice. Information about the process is in the Downloads box on this page.