10,000 Queensland Health staff face the axe over jab mandate

Thousands of Queensland Health staff have just days to get their first Covid-19 vaccination or risk being banned from government facilities.

QUEENSLAND Health is set for a showdown against almost 10,000 of its workers who have just two days to receive their first Covid-19 vaccination or risk being banned from government facilities.

About 11 per cent of Queensland Health’s 90,000 hospital-based workforce remains unvaccinated despite a department directive to have at least one dose by Friday.

The Courier-Mail can reveal those who do not receive the vaccine will require an exemption to continue to work in or enter a facility where patient care is required.

Staff without an exemption will be barred from working and instead will be forced to access entitlements, including annual, long service or leave without pay.

It is understood exemptions will be granted on individual and exceptional circumstances, such as a recognised medical contraindication.

Staff without an exemption to remain unvaccinated will be forced to take leave. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Employees will be permitted to continue working until an exemption has been processed.

The mandate extends to all clinical and non-clinical staff who work in or attend facilities where patient care is provided.

A spokeswoman for Queensland Health said it was vital staff were vaccinated to better protect the safety of employees, patients and the community.

“We have been supporting and encouraging employee vaccination since the start of the rollout,” she said.

“All employees who are required to be vaccinated are a priority group for bookings and walk-ins at state-run sites.”

People queue up to receive the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at the community vaccination hub at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Boondall. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

As of September 20 about 89 per cent of Queensland Hospital and Health Service staff have received at least one dose of the vaccine and about 82 per cent have received both doses.

The Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union and AMAQ have supported the vaccination mandate, declaring it essential to ensuring patient care is protected.

The Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union and AMAQ have supported the vaccination mandate, declaring it essential to ensuring patient care is protected.

But two experienced nurses who work in southeast Queensland hospitals have told The Courier-Mail they feel like they were being pushed out of the jobs they love.

“Nobody is quitting their job, we all want to work, they’re standing us down without pay,” one of the nurses said.

“Our whole role is about informed choice, we support our clients and advocate for them to make informed choices, that’s what we are taught in uni and that’s what we do on the job.

“So to suddenly find ourselves in a position where we are not afforded the same respect is ridiculous.”

The pair, who asked to be anonymous to avoid being reported to AHPRA for speaking out against mandatory vaccinations, said they were not “anti-vaxxers” but wanted to see more longitudinal trials on the vaccine before taking it.

“I’m vaccinated against a lot of things,… where there is risk there must be choice,” one of the nurses said.

Nurses Professional Association Queensland State Secretary Aenghas Hopkinson-Pearson said the government’s direction was “completely unreasonable”.

“We’ve had nurses about to go on maternity leave, or already on maternity leave reveal their leave entitlements have been threatened if they don’t meet the mandate deadline,” she said.

“The health advice regarding pregnant women only recently changed, what should be a happy period of leave for these nurses, has left some wondering if they’ll be able to make ends meet or be forced to get the vaccine whilst pregnant.”

He said many nurses would choose to leave the profession rather than agree to the mandate.