Let unvaccinated healthcare workers fill the void: Dametto
14th June 2022
State Member for Hinchinbrook and KAP Deputy Leader Nick Dametto at Ingham Hospital.
With more than 2300 Queensland Health staff currently on leave due to COVID-19[1] and close to 1000 hospitalisations with COVID-19 or influenza, Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) Deputy Leader and Hinchinbrook MP, Nick Dametto is pleading the Government to drop the vaccine mandate still in place for Queensland healthcare workers in order to alleviate the staffing pressure on the healthcare system.
The Hinchinbrook MP’s calls come after 6900 new cases of COVID-19[2] were recorded in Queensland on Wednesday (14 July), with more than 45,000 active cases.
“The reality is COVID-19 is a virus we have no choice but to learn to live with, that’s evident in the number of cases we’re seeing, people are getting on with their lives, but our poor healthcare system is still being hamstrung by the Government’s vaccine mandate,” Mr Dametto said
“It just doesn’t make sense that we have healthcare workers who are fit for work, being force to stand down because they are unvaccinated while the State is experiencing a severe worker shortage.”
Mr Dametto questioned why the mandate was still in place for workers in healthcare and hospitals especially when a COVID-19 positive parent can gain clearance to enter a hospital to visit their sick child.
As of the 30th of June, COVID-19 vaccinations were no longer required for workers in ‘high-risk settings’ such as early childhood, primary and secondary education, prisons, youth detention centres and watch houses and airports.
“How is it fair to allow some workers in high-risk settings back to work while excluding our healthcare workers?” Mr Dametto said.
“How can the Government sit by idly while there are people ready to fill those gaps?
“Unvaccinated Queensland healthcare workers could safely return to work by implementing strict workplace health and safety protocols such as the use of Personal Protective Equipment.
“Unvaccinated visitors have been able to visit State Hospitals for quite some time now, so why can’t our valued healthcare workers return to work?”
The KAP believes that people should not be discriminated against or denied access to their workplaces on the basis of their health choices, and they will continue to fight to end COVID-19 vaccination mandates throughout Queensland.
—ENDS—
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/13/struggling-health-systems-brace-for-5000-covid-linked-daily-hospital-admissions-amid-early-flu-peak
[2] https://thewest.com.au/news/coronavirus/qld-premier-calls-for-national-virus-talks-c-7516080