Cairns Hospital suspensions: Staff vaccinations expected to rise as threats kick in
Cairns Hospital’s coping capacity is in question after Health Minister Yvette D’Ath confirmed suspensions were on the way for unvaccinated staff.
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CAIRNS Hospital’s coping capacity is in question after Yvette D’Ath confirmed suspensions were on the way for unvaccinated staff.
The health minister said she had not been advised of any staff disruptions related to suspensions in Cairns yet.
“But there are, of course, a number of staff that haven’t come forward to be vaccinated,” she said.
“Some of them are able to still remain in the workplace because of where they’re working.
“They’re not exposed to patients and at-risk.
“Others will be taking leave, or are on leave, or may be suspended until they advise whether they’re going to get vaccinated or not.”
As it stands, 451 Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service employees do not have vaccination records.
They account for about 6.3 per cent of the workforce – although 232 were on leave and may have their status updated upon return to work.
That still leaves at least 219 workers who have not had the jab despite a mandatory deadline having arrived on Monday.
Recent spikes in code yellows at Cairns Hospital have come alongside union complaints of emergency department safety issues.
Throwing reduced staffing and a return of interstate travel during a pandemic into the mix sounds like a recipe for disaster.
However, Ms D’Ath was convinced health workers’ vaccine reluctance would ebb away in fairly short order.
“We’ve been planning for this,” she said.
“We knew that there would always be a percentage of the workforce that are not vaccinated.
“I expect that those numbers will come in.”
The health minister said similar unvaccinated percentages were recorded when mandatory deadlines hit the aged care sector earlier this year.
“But now we have 100 per cent of our aged care workforce that have had their first doses, and I think it’s over 96 per cent have had second doses,” she said.
“I expect, over the next couple of weeks, that we will have a lot of people stepping forward and getting vaccinated.
“But of course, if they don’t, they will have to explain to their individual hospitals and the (health services) why they don’t want to be vaccinated – and we will have to work through what that will mean for their employment.”
The Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union has been asked for comment.
THE threat of Cairns falling short of a 80 per cent double-vaccination deadline on December 17 is getting more real by the day.
Latest figures place the local government area’s first-shot rate at 77.5 per cent with 65.6 per cent of residents receiving two doses.
The chance of Yarrabah making the cut is much lower with 46.8 per cent first doses and just 26.3 per cent fully vaxxed.
However, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath believed there would be a late spike.
“We’re almost 80 per cent first doses (in Cairns) already. Once people get their first dose, people are turning up for their second,” she said.
“So you can expect to get the second-dose rates up be three or four weeks after that first dose.”
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