Almost 120 local health workers who sought a COVD-19 vaccination exemption have had their applications rejected and face losing their jobs, while many more remain under a cloud.
Concerns are growing about the impact of losing such a significant number of Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service (SCHHS) employees as the region braces for a spike in infections.
Hundreds are on leave or having exemption requests processed after not meeting the Queensland Government’s early November deadline.
Latest figures provided to Sunshine Coast News, show that about 8% of the Coast service’s staff are yet to get the jab.
Queensland Health said that 719 SCHHS workers, out of a total of 8807, had no vaccination record as at December 15.
It said 393 were on leave at this time and did not need to become compliant until they were due to return, while 326 remained in the scope of the State Government’s mandate, had not been vaccinated and were not on leave.
Exemption requests have been lodged by 335 staff, with 117 rejected and 3 approved to date. The remainder are still being processed.
Sunshine Coast News understands workers who are not vaccinated and have not applied for an exemption will not be able to enter a facility where care is provided.
These staff will be notified in writing with a show cause letter. If staff are still non-compliant after the show cause process, then their employment may be terminated.
While the unvaccinated workers are in a broad range of jobs, a number are nurses who are in great demand.
The staff losses could have an impact on the SCHHS and its flagship Sunshine Coast University Hospital (SCUH) as the region prepares for an increase in COVID-19 cases in coming months – and the flow-on effects these additional patients are expected to put on the system.
A Queensland Health spokesperson said mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for healthcare workers was not unique to Queensland.
“Other jurisdictions like New South Wales and Victoria and several countries around the world, including Britain, France and New Zealand, have chosen to mandate the vaccine to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of healthcare workers,” the spokesperson said.
“We will continue to work with staff to find alternative arrangements for those who have received or applied for an exemption. This may include taking leave, working remotely or being moved into an alternative temporary role where the vaccination is not mandated.”
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The Queensland Health spokesperson said exemption requests were not simple or straight forward.
They said a range of evidence and consultation was required depending on the nature of the exemption.
“The team is working incredibly hard to process exemption requests as quickly as possible. While this is being worked through, these staff will not be in the workplace.
“We are incredibly proud of and grateful for the efforts our staff are taking to get vaccinated. However, we understand each individual is different and that some people are genuinely unable to be vaccinated.
“For this reason, every exemption application and show cause notice process is being progressed and assessed on a case-by-case basis. This means every person will be at a different stage of the process with different types of pay, different leave arrangements or alternative work options depending on their individual circumstances.”
$200m boost for COVID fight
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced a $200 million boost for Queensland hospitals.
The immediate injection will go towards dealing with increasing COVID cases and any pressures on the health system as a result.
She said it was made possible by Queensland’s strong economic recovery revealed in last week’s Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Review.
The Premier (pictured) said the first dollars from this dividend would be spent on continuing to keep Queenslanders safe.
“It’s because of our strong health response that we have such a strong economy,” she said.
“Strong and healthy Queenslanders make for a strong and healthy economy so it stands to reason that we should return some of those dividends to keeping Queenslanders healthy.”
The extra funding will be spent in four key areas:
- any increased costs in dealing with increased COVID cases
- capital works
- support for out-of-hospital care, and
- support for virtual models of care, including virtual care hubs, IT platforms and engaging Health Direct.
It adds to more than $2 billion provided to manage COVID-19 and critical services.
