Qld nurses rally for their jobs amid vaccine refusal

Nurses dismissed for refusing the Covid-19 vaccine rallied outside a major Queensland hospital, demanding re-employment.

Dozens of nurses and midwives waved placards outside Gold Coast University Hospital on Saturday, following leaked Qld Health emails in The Courier Mail revealed a nurse could not be re-employed due to official termination for refusing vaccination.

Director-general of Queensland Health Michael Walsh said the order was "incorrect", writing to all hospitals and health services on Friday telling them there was no directive to stop the re-employment of suitably qualified candidates who had been subject to disciplinary measures related to the vaccine mandate.

Data from the Health Department showed 1,249 staff were terminated due to noncompliance with the mandate.

However, the vaccine mandate was no longer applicable from September last year, with Mr Walsh apologising to the nurse.

"[The email] is inconsistent with the Queensland Health position that any staff member who left the organisation for any reason, including relating to the Covid-19 vaccination mandate, can reapply for a position," he said.

"In fact, since the mandate was repealed in late September, 37 staff members who left the organisation because of the vaccine mandate, have been re-employed with us."

Queensland Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said last week that no barriers were stopping former health workers from rejoining departments.

"I am extremely disappointed if [hospital and health services] are not following government policies," she said.

"This is not the government’s position, and I have made it very clear that there are no barriers for former Queensland Health employees who had their employment terminated to reapply, and I encourage them to do so."

But, nurses protesting outside the Gold Coast hospital said they were still struggling to regain their jobs.

Janice Richardson was a registered nurse for 35 years when she was suspended and fired for not receiving the vaccine.

"I've got a heart condition myself, and I just wanted to wait a little bit at the time," Ms Richardson told 7News.

"I never refused to have [the vaccine].

"I can't find anything else that really fulfils me like my job did."

Ella Leach, secretary of the Nurses Professional Association of Queensland, said the health minister did not respond to an invitation sent 10 days before the rally.

"I contacted Shannon Fentiman's office to invite her to our rally and provided her with a list of concerns, including the fact that nurses and midwives were securing jobs and then having them taken away due to their disciplinary history," Ms Leach told Nursing Review.

"She cannot pretend that she did not know [the rally] was happening.

"Why must we resort to shaming her in the media before she responds to anything."

The health minister's office did not respond to NPAQ's invitation till after the rally had finished when Ms Leach believed "the media had started contacting her about it".

The minister has been sent the names and experiences of 350 terminated healthcare workers who wanted to return by Ms Leach.

"These people should not have to reapply," she said.

"They should be different re-employment."

Ms Fentiman told 7News that "each of the nurses who provide their names and details to my office will be followed up, and their concerns will be individually case managed".

The office of the Director-General would oversee the re-employment.

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