A Queensland nurses’ union has leapt to the defense of the nurse at the centre of the North Rockhampton Nursing Centre, saying she has made a range of allegations against the Government-run home – including that she could have potentially contracted the virus in the home.
The President of the Nurses’ Professional Association of Queensland (NPAQ), Phill Tsingos, says he and his legal team have had several interviews with the 52-year-old nurse who says she has become the scapegoat for multiple failures at the home, The Courier Mail reports.
“They are certainly looking at a blame game and I am the target,” the nurse – who has worked in emergency care for 26 years – said in an interview with Mr Tsingos.
The nurse reportedly said there was a remote possibility that she contracted the virus at the home because infection controls there were poor, with visiting doctors not signing in and failing to use the hand sanitiser.
She and other nurses at the facility also alleged there was a shortage of PPE and little, if any, temperature tests and screening questions done.
Mr Tsingos also said the nurse was told by management that she should make up her own mind about whether to return to work or not while awaiting the results of her positive test.
“She asked her superiors for advice and did not get any, so she wrongly presumed it was OK to go to work,” he said.
“In hindsight, it was not the wisest decision.”
Mr Tsingos added that other staff who were tested were also asked to return to work before they had received their results.
The nurse will have the opportunity to speak for herself. Queensland Health has confirmed it is currently drawing up terms of reference for a separate independent inquiry into the case.
