An open letter to the Victorian Government and Premier Daniel Andrews,

The first confirmed case of Novel Coronavirus - Covid 19 - arrived in Melbourne from Wuhan on 19 January 2020. 

The first per shift allowance surge payment for healthcare workers came into effect on 11 October 2021 and ended 31 March 2022.

Since the beginning of the pandemic healthcare workers have worked diligently with compassion and empathy, through varying weather and workplace conditions, staffing deficits, patient presentation numbers and patient acuity. We have done this in painful N95 masks (that result in pressure sores and mask acne), fluid repellent (read: non-breathable and hot) gowns, gloves and eye protection. 

Of the 27 months since the beginning of the pandemic, selected areas of public healthcare received remuneration for only 5 of those months, those in private healthcare organisations received none.

The extended pandemic declaration applied to the state of Victoria from to April 12 2022 is now not set to expire until 12 July 2022.

In making the declaration the Premier is satisfied on reasonable grounds there remains a serious risk to public health throughout Victoria due to Covid 19, including recent increases in case numbers and the anticipated BA.2 wave.

If there remains on ongoing serious risk to Public Health, and an expected increase in case numbers from the anticipated next wave of infection, resulting in an ongoing need for healthcare workers to continue wearing extensive layers of PPE, I implore the Victorian Government to consider why the surge payment has been ceased? 

Thousands of healthcare workers are burnt out, empathy fatigued and losing their passion for the profession they once loved, particularly when there is a lack of support and incentive to continue working in these conditions. 

I ask you, as a burnt out Emergency Department nurse, on behalf of thousands of other burnt out healthcare workers, to consider reinstating the covid surge support payment for healthcare workers, to retain skilled staff while we continue to battle on the frontlines of this pandemic.