Two Sydney nurses who threatened to refuse treatment and even kill patients of Israeli descent should be banned from practicing in the Australian healthcare system.
Two NSW Health workers, identified as nurses at Bankstown Hospital, should “lose their right to work in Australian healthcare” for life, after the pair threatened to kill patients of Israeli descent.
In a video on Instagram posted by Israeli influencer “Maxveifer” this morning, the two workers, wearing NSW Health uniforms and clearly in a hospital environment, said they refused to treat patients of Israeli background.
“You have no idea how many [Israeli people] come to this hospital … I send to Jahannam,” said the male nurse.
Jahannam is Arabic for “hell”.
The female nurse calls Maxveifer a “piece of shit”.
“It’s Palestine’s country, not your country, you piece of shit. One day your time will come. One day you’ll die the most …” before the recording cuts out.
She goes on to say: “When your time comes, I want you to remember my face so you can understand that you will die the most disgusting death.”
The man says: “I’m a doctor my man, in a hospital.
“You’re going to get killed and you’re going to go to (hell jahannam), inshallah (god willing),” he said.
“Those pretty eyes should stay in this world for longer.”
Late this afternoon the male nurse told the Daily Telegraph that the video was “a joke, a misunderstanding”. He said he would apologise to the Jewish community for any offence caused, but first he had to “go and see” detectives from NSW Police’s Strike Force Pearl.
“It wasn’t meant to be like this,” the DT quoted him as saying.
Sydney-based ophthalmologist and eye surgeon, Dr Ivan Goldberg told HSD that the two nurses should be sanctioned by the profession’s regulators.
“[The nurses have expressed] a mental paradigm that is anathema to any kind of healthcare worker,” said Dr Goldberg, who is a member of the Australian Academic Alliance Against Antisemitism (5A).
“They should be reported to [regulators] and they should lose their right to work in Australian healthcare for good.”
A spokesperson for national regulator AHPRA said any regulatory action against the pair would be undertaken by the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission.
“If there are any sanctions brought that will come through to the national system anyway,” said the spokesperson.
An HCCC spokesperson said the situation was “an evolving matter” for the Commission and they could not yet comment further.
Dr Goldberg said when he first saw the video he thought it was “parody”, but when he realised it was “no hoax” he was overcome with “sheer horror and then anger”.
In a press release this morning, Mr Park said the comments were “vile, dehumanising and unacceptable”.
“They made me sick to my stomach.
“I have asked NSW Health to launch an urgent investigation to identify the individuals and they have also referred the matter to NSW Police.”
At a doorstop later in the morning, Mr Park confirmed the two in the video had been identified as nurses at Bankstown Hospital, working the night shift. He also confirmed the pair had been stood down and would “not be welcome ever again in NSW Health as an employee”.
By the afternoon the two nurses had been identified in the Murdoch press. HSD has chosen not to name them at this time.
Speaking on 2GB, NSW premier Chris Minns was unambiguous in his message to the public.
“We need to send a clear and unambiguous message that if you go to an emergency department or you’re on a ward anywhere in NSW, you’ll be treated by people who are highly trained, highly skilled, and who care about you,” he said.
“I can understand right now, members of the Jewish community, and even those that are not members of the Jewish community, would be appalled at this latest revelation. We just can’t stand for it.
“We understand this undermines the basic confidence in the health system and that these individuals can’t return to wards or public hospitals in NSW.
“We cannot stand for racism and bigotry in our public services. The taxpayers of the state deserve nothing less, and basic decency demands that we don’t have people who operate like this in public services in the state.”
Federal health minister Mark Butler said he was “utterly disgusted and appalled”.
“The idea that you would single out a particular group in our community and indicate you wouldn’t care for them runs against every single principle in our healthcare system,” he said.
“At a time of unprecedented antisemitism in our country, this is a particularly sickening video.
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“I’ve seen comments from the New South Wales Minister Ryan Park, and can I say I endorse them 100%. I look forward to this New South Wales Health Inquiry happening quickly.”
Dr Larisa Barnes, a health services researcher, said the video had been “devastating” to her on several counts.
“NSW [Health] are key partners in my research (across multiple NSW LHDs) and so many USYD health research projects,” she told HSD via email.
“If the views expressed by the two NSW Health employees are widespread, what does that mean for any research I want to partner with NSW Health?
“Will any future collaborations with NSW Health I have, be impacted by direct antisemitism? Will I face overt, direct antisemitism? Will it impact funding opportunities for my research?
“I live in an area with one of the highest ex-pat Israeli populations in the state (~2500 individuals), and the video is scary for my Israeli friends.
“Should they go to NSW hospitals for treatment? Will they be in danger? Will they be treated equally and fairly and with humanity as they should expect?
“I am not Israeli, but I am a proud and ‘out’ Jew.
“Will any care I need at a NSW Health hospital be compromised by antisemitism if I ‘disclose’ my Jewish identity?”
Dr Goldberg said the video would have “ripple-on effects”, not just for patients, but also for other healthcare workers of Israeli and Jewish descent.
“This undermines the collegiality of the healthcare industry,” he told HSD.
“It makes you start to have thoughts about your health colleagues – how are they thinking and applying their thoughts.
“It undermines our confidence in the health industry.”
Professor Samuel Menahem, a consultant paediatrician, agreed.
“Such threats will have a profound effect on any patient, adding to the stresses and concerns related to any hospitalisation,” he told HSD via email.
“In addition, it will influence how any treatments or recommendations are viewed by the patient, damaging the doctor/nurse/patient relationship.
“The two nurses need be brought up before [regulators] and struck off.
“I have frequently worked and visited Israel and been involved in clinical teaching. Throughout there is no distinction with respect to racial or religious background as the patient comes first. In fact, many heads of departments in the top teaching hospitals in Israel are of Arab origin.”
Michael Waites, acting general secretary of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association, said the union condemned the nurses’ actions.
“We condemn all forms of racism, bigotry and hatred, including acts of antisemitism and Islamophobia,” he told HSD.
“Health practitioners are bound by a code of conduct to care for all people, regardless of their circumstances. There is no room for this behaviour in our healthcare systems.
“As a union representing the professions of nursing and midwifery we stand for peace, we stand for love, and we defend the global human right to healthcare.”