Angry nurses rally at Gold Coast University Hospital, demand jobs back

Nurses have marched on a major South East Queensland hospital demanding their jobs back after findings into the state’s vaccine mandate during the pandemic.

Angry nurses sacked for refusing the Covid-19 vaccine have marched on a major South East Queensland hospital demanding their jobs back.

Dozens of placard-waving nurses and other healthcare workers took part in the rally outside Gold Coast University Hospital on Saturday.

It followed fury this week after The Courier-Mail revealed leaked Queensland Health emails telling a veteran nurse that “we are unable to re-employ any staff who were officially terminated” for refusing the jab.

Queensland Health boss Michael Walsh said the edict was incorrect and wrote to all hospital and health services in the state on Friday telling them there was no directive not to reinstate sacked workers.

Angry nurses sacked for refusing a Covid vaccine are protesting at the Gold Coast University Hospital.

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman this week repeatedly denied there were any barriers to hundreds of workers who refused to comply with the vaccination mandate from returning to work.

But nurses protesting on the Gold Coast said they were still struggling to get their jobs back.

They included 23-year veteran intensive care nurse Michelle Williams, who said she tried to reapply at the major hospital she was sacked from in 2021 but was told there were no vacancies - only to see a job ad for a position.

“It’s frustrating, it’s really frustrating,” she said.

“Patients are suffering and they’ve got very junior staff looking after them.

“There’s so many of us with so much experience and our experience is just going to waste.”

Ms Williams said Ms Fentiman needed to “stop lying to us”.

“We want to come back to work, we’ve done nothing wrong except not follow this one (vaccine) direction,” she said.

“We’re not criminals. We’re people who love our jobs, we love looking after patients and we just want to help people.

“We just want to come back to work and do what we love doing, and that’s helping people get better.”

Ella Leach, secretary of the Nurses Professional Association of Queensland, said Ms Fentiman had not responded to an invitation to attend or at least endorse the rally.

Angry nurses sacked for refusing a Covid vaccine are protesting at the Gold Coast Hospital.

Nurses protest over Covid vaccine mandates at the Gold Coast University Hospital.

Ms Leach said the minister had been sent the names and experience of 350 sacked health care workers who wanted to return and “Shannon should be reaching out to them directly” instead of making them reapply.

“There’s just zero excuse … we want her to take some actual action,” she said.

“These people were born to be nurses and health professionals - they want to work. It doesn’t make them happy hearing that the system’s crumbling, it makes them desperately angry and upset.

“All they want to do is work.”

Ms Leach was herself sacked from Queensland Children’s Hospital for refusing the vaccine - in January this year, four months after the mandate was lifted, and despite being seven months’ pregnant. She launched unfair dismissal action against Queensland Health.

Ms Leach said many sacked healthcare workers who had reapplied for jobs with Queensland Health were still being rejected because of their “disciplinary action history” in refusing the vaccine.

An email received by a nurse. Picture: Supplied

An email received by a nurse. Picture: Supplied

“These people have decades of experience and they are desperately needed,” she said.

Ms Leach said 6000 nurses were predicted to retire in 2024 but Queensland Health was hiring nurses from interstate or overseas, with incentives of up to $70,000.

The NPAQ provided The Courier-Mail with Queensland Health emails to other sacked workers telling them they had been knocked back for jobs due to their disciplinary history.

In an email to the NPAQ on Saturday, Ms Fentiman’s office said she was unable to attend the rally because of prior commitments.

But the office said the minister would be responding to the union’s correspondence “as a matter of urgency”.

“The Minister continues to encourage members to apply for jobs within Queensland Health if they wish to return to work,” Ms Fentiman’s spokesperson said.