Yesterday Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton extended the deadline for workers in key sectors – including healthcare – to receive their COVID-19 third dose, by four weeks.
This means that eligible healthcare workers will need to provide evidence of their COVID-19 third dose vaccination by 12 March. This deadline had previously been set for Saturday, 12 February.
While this extension gives staff who are yet to receive their third dose more time, it does not change the legal requirement to do so.
Any healthcare workers who have not received their third COVID dose by 12 February must provide evidence that you have booked in to receive it before 12 March. This evidence of your booking must be provided to Western Health by tomorrow, 12 February – otherwise you will not be permitted to work as per the Pandemic Orders. Staff who are in this position will receive a text message today with a link to a survey to support this new process. Staff who have already supplied evidence of having either received the vaccine, or a medical exemption, over the past 36 hours may receive this text message, but do not need to respond.
The deadline for staff who became eligible to receive their third dose after 12 January 2022 remains 29 March 2022.
Under Pandemic Orders announced by Health Minister Martin Foley last month, a third COVID-19 vaccination became mandatory for all Victorian healthcare workers. The regulation also applies to aged care, disability, emergency services, correctional facility, quarantine accommodation and food distribution workers.
For staff at Western Health – and at all other Victorian health services – this means that failure to receive the mandatory third dose of the COVID vaccine may result in you being stood down without pay and a disciplinary process commencing.
Full details on how to get vaccinated, how to make a booking, and how to prove your vaccination status, are below.
Thank you to everyone who has already received their third dose. We look forward to working with all staff to get through the full vaccination process, so we can keep our patients, our families, and each other safe.
Regards,
Shane Crowe
Executive Director Nursing & Midwifery
Dedicated phone hotline
Staff experiencing issues with the mandatory vaccination process can phone our new dedicated hotline for assistance including: how to get evidence from Medicare Online; how to upload evidence (including medical exemptions or doses administered at non-Western Health sites); issues with the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) and certificates; and any other challenges staff may have in meeting the requirements.
This hotline can be accessed between 9am–5pm by phoning 8345 0945 (ext 50945)
Where can I get vaccinated and make a booking?
- Western Health staff can make a booking or walk in to any of our vaccination hubs
- A staff pop-up clinic is being held tomorrow, Friday 11 February, at Footscray Hospital (Mavis Mitchell Room) from 9am-3.30pm
How do I prove my vaccination status or medical exemption?
- Advice on providing evidence of your third dose at a non-Western Health site can be found on the microsite
- If you have a medical exemption, please provide a copy of your COVID digital certificate to your manager who will forward a copy to your People and Culture Business Partner for recording.
Consent to access Australian Immunisation Register
For Western Health staff who have received their third dose at a non-Western Health vaccination centre, as an alternative to uploading their Immunisation History Statement from Medicare Online, staff may consent to Western Health accessing their Australian Immunisation Register record. Recent Victorian public health orders require healthcare employers such as Western Health to collect and record vaccination information in relation to employees.
Providing this consent confirms Western Health can legitimately access the staff member’s Australian Immunisation Register record to note the details of their COVID-19 vaccination status including their third dose, and update our records. To provide this consent, please complete this survey.
Otherwise, you are able to continue to send your Immunisation History Statement from Medicare Online, together with your name (as it appears on your pay slip) and your employee number to COVIDVaccination@wh.org.au