Covid vaccine: Gold Coast clinic staff refused exemptions to cross border

A Gold Coast doctor has slammed the ‘sheer insanity’ of his NSW-based staff being denied exemptions to cross into Queensland, saying it’s stopping his clinic from giving urgently-needed Covid-19 vaccinations.

A Gold Coast doctor has slammed the ‘sheer insanity’ of his staff being denied exemptions to cross the border, saying it’s stopping his clinic from giving urgently-needed Covid-19 vaccinations.

Dr Graeme Burger, of the Musgrave St Medical Practice at Coolangatta, said vital support workers living south of the Tweed had been refused permission to cross the border.

“We have been instructed by the Queensland Government that no cross-border support workers for the Musgrave St Covid Vaccination Clinic will be given passes to be allowed to come to work,” he said.

“We are unable to operate or give vaccinations without these support workers to facilitate this.

“This seems sheer insanity.”

Dr Burger said the clinic employed seven support workers and only one lived in Queensland.

He said it would take a month to recruit and train new workers but existing workers would be needed to help with the process.

Dr Graeme Burger in the Musgrave St Medical Centre. Photo: Blainey Woodham / Daily News

Dr Burger also said that despite being fully vaccinated, he was not allowed to visit the 50 nursing home patients he looked after 300 metres south of the border.

Nor could he do house calls, ‘even on patients who wish to die at home’, without having to go into 14 days’ quarantine each time he crossed the border.

Southern Gold Coast MP Laura Gerber said the situation was unacceptable.

“Labor are locking health workers out of the southern Gold Coast which will slow down the vaccination of our community,” she said.

“It’s the consequence of Labor’s impractical border policies that don’t work in our community.

“We need to bring back the border bubble as a priority.

“Labor’s one size fits all border policy doesn’t work in our community - we are one community that is being torn apart by a line on a map.

“This craziness also doesn’t fit with Annastacia Palaszczuk’s election promises to keep us strong and safe. It’s doing neither in our community because of the impact on local vaccination clinics.”