Two New South Wales hospital workers appeared in a video on social media that appears to be threatening to refuse to treat and kill Israeli patients have been identified as nurses at a Sydney hospital and “standing immediately”, says the State health minister.
The video attracts a widespread political condemnation, along with the prime minister who quickly labels the footage “sick and embarrassing.”
Health Minister Ryan Park launched an investigation after being published a video of an Israeli content creator describing an online conversation he had with two people at an NSW hospital in a Chatroulette social media platform version.
Max Veifer uses the platform, which allows users to have random video chats with other users around the world, to ask the people he is talking to about Israel.
In the video, Veifer begins a conversation with a person wearing scrubs with an insignia on NSW health that identifies himself as a doctor.
When Veifer recognizes himself like from Israel, the man said “I’ll be honest with you … I’m very angry with Israeli. Later I will kill you and go to Jahannam [hell]. “
Veifer then asked the man and a woman sitting next to him what they would do if an Israeli was coming to their hospital, and the woman responded: “I will not treat them, I will kill them.”
The man said that “you have no idea how many [Israelis] Come to this hospital, and I sent them to Jahannam. I actually sent them to Jahannam. “
Park called the video behavior, “Rude, disgusting and surprising.”
“The whole video, from start to finish, is a reminder to me … The fact that they choose to do it in uniform, that they choose to do it while they should care about patients,” said Park.
He said the pair, identified as nurses from Banksstown Hospital, were standing and, subject to investigation, would no longer work at an NSW hospital.
“Obviously, the investigation process is now taking place. I don’t want to leave a sliver, a light sliver to allow any of them to think they will ever work for New South Wales Health,” said By Park.
Park apologized to the Jewish community and said he wanted to make sure that “the care you get in our hospitals will continue to be the first class.”
“There is no place in our hospital and health system for this kind of view, ever,” Park said.
“There is no place for this kind of perspective in our society, but hospitals are different from the fact that every single Australia and every single resident of this state should go to their local hospital when they need care and attention and attention and get high quality care that is safe and effective.
Park said the NSW police and NSW healthcare complaints commission will be investigating the incident.
Asked about what possible crimes they defined to the police, Park said “the nurses have a board and a clinical standard that they registered. So first, that was clearly completely broken.”
He added “issues around speaking hate, badly offensive behavior to people based on their particular faith, and obviously by investigation, may have different issues around their individual responsibilities as New South Wales health health employees. “
NSW Secretary of Health Susan Pearce, who is close to tears in parts of Wednesday’s meeting, said: “Never in my wild dreams I think I will stand here with two New South staff Wales Health System who has said such a terrible feelings about our community, and especially our Jewish community, I offer my sincere apology.
Asked about the claims they made in the video about their treatment of Israeli patients, Park said there was no evidence based on a rapid evaluation of the patient’s incidents and patient safety issues over the past 12 months in hospital.
“What do we do today through those agencies … conduct a thorough investigation to ensure, there is no bad result as a result of their behavior,” he said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, called the footage “sick and embarrassed.”
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler, and the Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke, released a joint statement condemning the video they called “as chilling as it was bad.”
Shadow’s health minister, Anne Ruston, and home minister James Patterson, also released a joint statement “NSW health care workers showing bad antisteemic, is quite embarrassing and deeply disturbing. “
