Holidays cut, unvaxxed workers called on as health system stretched by escalating cases

Health workers have been ordered to cut short holidays and unvaccinated staff are being used in non-frontline roles to cope with the “rapidly escalating” number of Covid-19 hospitalisations.

Health workers have been ordered to cut short their annual leave and unvaccinated staff are being used in non-frontline roles to cope with the “rapidly escalating” number of Covid-19 hospitalisations.

The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 across Queensland reached 502 on Tuesday, a significant jump from the 419 recorded 24 hours earlier.

Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said the spreading virus would result in the number of hospitalisations increasing significantly within weeks.

“That is escalating fairly rapidly and that is exactly what it is expected to do and that will continue based on our projections until the beginning of February,” he said.

“Those numbers will become quite significant in the coming weeks until the beginning of February and then hopefully, if the mathematical modelling is correct, it will start to decline after that.”

The increasing number of Covid-19 hospitalisations is expected to further stretch Queensland’s under pressure health system.

There are 2138 healthcare staff who have tested positive for Covid-19 and another 2715 who are considered close contacts.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said there were no plans to return up to 5000 unvaccinated health workers to frontline roles ahead of the expected surge in hospitalisations – declaring there were “mechanisms” in place to ease pressure on the system.

“That is an absolute last resort to have unvaccinated people working on the frontline because vaccinations are keeping our staff and the patients and visitors safe,” she said.

She said about half of the unvaccinated staff were on long service or maternity leave.

Ms D’Ath said the essential worker definition applied to health staff meant they could be asked to work even if they were identified as a close contact of a Covid-positive person.

“If they are otherwise well fully vaccinated, asymptomatic and have not tested positive but they are close contact, then the Hospital and Health Services have the authority to ask those people to come to work as well,” she said.

Health Minister Yvette D'Ath. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

The Health Minister said there were protocols in place for unvaccinated staff to be used somewhere which “doesn’t require face-to-face contact with patients” within the health system.

Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union secretary Beth Mohle said she was prepared for healthcare to get creative during the peak of the pandemic, including using Covid-positive nurses.

“I think we could be looking at nurses in virtual Covid care roles while working from home,” she said.

Australian College of Nursing CEO Kylie Ward said nurses across the country had been asked to provide clinical care after they tested positive to Covid via a rapid antigen test.

“From the Australian College of Nursing’s perspective nurses, as the largest group of registered health professionals, are being put in a position that compromises their ability to deliver safe, clinical care. This is an issue for the safety of the profession and for patients,” she said.

Originally published as Holidays cut, unvaxxed workers called on as health system stretched by escalating cases