The nurses say they feel “shocked” and “completely devalued” after spending weeks caring for COVID positive aged care residents in Victoria during the state’s second wave – despite promises of payment for aged care staff who travelled to the state.
Tanya Clarke, a Registered Nurse from Mt Gambier, spent almost eight weeks working with COVID-19 positive patients in aged care at Melbourne’s Epping Private Hospital, which was recommissioned to provide medical care for aged care residents with COVID-19. Julie Wigzell, a Registered Nurse from Adelaide, spent seven weeks working at the same Melbourne facility.
Both women work for Healthcare Australia which was one of the providers commissioned by the Federal Government to provide ‘surge’ staffing to aged care homes during the pandemic.
Both have tested negative for COVID, but have taken their case to the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (SA Branch) after discovering they and two other Adelaide nurses will not be paid for the two weeks they have to spend in quarantine on their return to SA.
“HCA is negotiating with Healthe Care, which runs Epping Private, a subsidiary of a large international Chinese company, and although I guess legally they’re not really required to pay it, I just feel we’ve helped out and contributed to the health of Victorians, we should be remunerated,” Ms Clarke – who has worked for HCA for 25 years – said.
“All we are asking is that our time in quarantine be recognised, we don’t have a choice, we understand it’s necessary. We were told we would be paid and then all of a sudden, the goal posts changed.”
As we covered here, the Federal Government had offered $5,000 ‘danger’ payments to interstate aged care staff to travel to Melbourne in August to relieve workforce shortages.
Given the risk to staff who have taken time out of their lives to help their colleagues in Victoria, should the Federal Government be picking up this bill?
