Hecklers call them 'anti-vaxxers', three ex-health staff spoke out on their ordeal

Nurse team leader Bec, sonographer Joanne Smith, and equipment steriliser Rhonda Fell has spoken to the Daily Liberal about the toll their decision has had on both their career and personal lives.

"The [COVID-19] injection mandate for many of us was just the icing on the cake. Many of us have had enough a long time ago... it's very very tough," Bec, (not her real name), said.

"I will never work for them again even if they drop the injection mandate. All other stuff is still there and the mandate was only a kick I needed to get out of that toxic environment."

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A Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) spokesperson described the pandemic's effect on their workplace as "incredibly challenging" and admitted it has "placed immense pressure on our workforce" thus it was "understandable that staff may be feeling the impacts of this extraordinarily challenging time."

The spokesperson added in December 2021, less than 0.5 per cent of more than 8,000 staff ceased employment after choosing not to comply with mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

"The District considered the individual circumstances of these workers and applied due process, including offering medical and workforce support," the spokesperson said.

"All staff were offered workforce and medical support to access and receive vaccinations, and those who ceased employment were given the opportunity to re-apply for positions should they choose to comply with vaccination requirements in the future."

As one of the nursing team leaders earning good pay, Bec said it was a huge loss in her career in the health industry but she couldn't stop the "burnout" particularly when the vaccination mandate was introduced.

The Public Health Order (COVID-19 Vaccination of Health Care Workers) Order (No 3) of 2021 has required that health care workers in NSW are vaccinated in at least two doses by 28 February 2022.

Those seeking to be exempted from the order must provide medical certification that due to "medical contraindication" they cannot be vaccinated.

When Bec advised her employer, the Western NSW Local Health District and NSW Health of her decision not to get vaccinated and would rather find another job, she was told 'you have to do what's best for you'.

"It's like they don't care if people leave," she said.

"We have a policy that talks staff retention but I have never seen anything implemented towards retaining staff or preventing burnout other than being offered EAP [Employee Assistance Program] because something is wrong with you."

Bec has worked with the WNSWLHD for over eight years and said she has seen staffing dwindle over time as staff complains about heavy workloads due to staff shortage while demand for services at hospitals, facilities, and allied health services was constantly rising.

"I hope for the sake of my friends still there that this organisation can improve their working conditions. I know they do it tough every day.

"I know many struggles to even get themselves to work and come home every day feeling exhausted and beaten around...my heart goes out to them."

But contrary to the former staff member's claims, the WNSWLHD spokesperson said their workforce has seen increases, stating between mid-2012 and mid-2022 there was an additional 701 full time equivalent staff - an increase of 14.6 per cent including 136 more doctors, 216 more nurses and midwives, and 143 more allied health staff.

In terms of staff working conditions, the spokesperson said they have been encouraging them "to raise issues openly and honestly to ensure they are identified and addressed quickly" that the WNSWLHD "takes the wellbeing of workers seriously."

In other news: From wards to weddings: Former Dubbo hospital manager finds success as a celebrant

Ms Smith, a licensed sonographer, left her job and is now working extra hours in another industry to keep up with bills since she was furloughed and ended up resigning for good.

She said she was grateful to have found another job at Hall's Transport Repairs but the ordeal of losing a well-paying job that she has been trained on professionally took a huge toll on her self-esteem.

When she refused to be vaccinated, Ms Smith said she was doing it as "a choice every human being deserves to make", particularly on health matters.

"We were not given a choice in the true sense of it...I want transparency...I want to have a choice, I want my kids to have a choice and where do you put a flag in the ground and say no it is not right," Ms Smith said.

"I believe in making choices. If someone wants to have the vaccine, they can have it but don't let me have it. Mandating it is a fundamental transgression on our rights as human beings."

Shunned by some of her family members and friends and called an "anti-vaxxer", Ms Fell said she felt "discriminated" for taking a stand against the vaccination mandate for health care staff.

Ms Fell, now 67, employed to sterilise equipment at Dubbo Base Hospital, said she was forced to go into early retirement although she indicated to her manager that she was willing to continue working even after she reached retirement age.

"They can call me whatever they like, I will have my own beliefs," Ms Fell said, adding she was more worried about how to reconnect with her family who stopped seeing her in person because she's not vaccinated.

"This COVID is a distraction in our lives. I have a friend who won't go walking with me until I get vaxxed. My sister won't even hug me when I visited her," Ms Fell said.

Ms Fell said she has moved on and though hoping to earn extra money as a retiree, going back to work in health care is not among her immediate plans.

Though Ms Smith's financial situation has suffered the most, she has not contemplated returning to her job either.

'"I've been significantly affected financially but I am not going to sit around and wish I still have my job. That doesn't help pay the bills, or my children going to school.

"You move on and just do your best trusting where I am at the moment is where I am meant to be. There are days that do flow well.

"But I don't think those people in other industries that were mandated out of their jobs would go back the way they were treated."

When they heard that a formal enquiry into the pandemic was proposed by the new government, Ms Smith said she welcomes it but will be "watching it with skepticism".

"How honest will they be to say that they made an honest mistake...They need to pick up all the red flags," Ms Smith said.

The WNSWLHD spokesperson added the NSW Government recently announced the largest workforce boost in the nation's history in the 2022-23 Budget with a $4.5 billion investment over four years to recruit 10,148 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff to hospitals and health services across NSW.