Otūmoetai Pathlab was closed yesterday due to a shortage of staff. Photo / George Novak
Otūmoetai Pathlab was closed yesterday due to a shortage of staff. Photo / George Novak
A staff shortage caused by the vaccine mandate has resulted in a Tauranga branch of medical laboratory closing temporarily.
All Bay of Plenty schools and kura, however, remained open today as the public health order requiring education, health and disability workers to have at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccination took effect.
A written statement issued by Pathlab chief executive Dianne McQueen said its Otūmoetai centre was closed today until further notice.
"This is due to the new staff shortages incurred as per the government mandate to have all healthcare workers fully vaccinated effective November 15."
She said it was recruiting to replace unvaccinated staff and was looking forward to reopening "as soon as possible".
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Sites in Bethlehem and on Cameron Rd remained open and were nearest the Otūmoetai centre, she said.
"We extend our sincerest apologies to the Otūmoetai visitors for any inconvenience experienced."
Otūmoetai Pathlab would be closed until further notice. Photo / George Novak
Te Puna Ora o Mataatua Charitable Trust chief executive Dr Chris Tooley said last week he was facing standing down 180 health support workers serving rural areas because they were not vaccinated.
But that number had dropped to 60 and he expected it to be 20 by the end of the week, Tooley told the Bay of Plenty Times today.
"I just want to mihi to my team as it's taken stress, time and sacrifice to overcome equity issues and a massive ground game to find and communicate to people and get them where they needed to be by Monday."
Te Puna Ora o Mataatua Charitable Trust chief executive Dr Chris Tooley. Photo / Supplied
New Zealand Nurses Organisation organiser Selina Robinson said the unvaccinated nurses she worked with in Whakatāne were "very stressed".
She could not specify how many members in the area were unvaccinated but said the mandate was impacting those working at the hospital and in the community.
Spokeswoman for New Zealand's DHBs Rosemary Clements said DHBs had assessed there was about 2 to 3 per cent of the workforce who had not had a vaccination as of 9am today.
Staff who had not been vaccinated and were in the "consultation phase" would be stood down on pay while their individual situations were worked through.
Final numbers of those who would be stood down or had resigned from the Bay of Plenty DHB would be confirmed this week. Photo / George Novak
In the education sector, a Tauranga history teacher, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said they were "ethically torn" in making the decision to leave their role.
"I really do understand the arguments for public health, and I've had all of my other vaccinations ... but for me the mandates were different.
"In the mandate, seeing sort of a shift from an understanding of individual rights to a more collectiveness understanding of rights really worries me.
"Many teachers I know have had the vaccine because they've got no other choice because of financial demand so I feel a little bit like I'm making a stand for them as well because they were not able to."
They understood they would work from home until being stood down at the end of the school year.
Western Bay of Plenty Principals Association president Suzanne Billington said principals and teachers were working hard for kids and wanted everything "as normal as possible".
"We're doing the best we can in the situation and that in most cases, everything is business as usual."
Western Bay of Plenty Principals Association president Suzanne Billington. Photo / George Novak
Ministry of Education operations and integration leader Sean Teddy confirmed "all Bay of Plenty – Waiariki schools and kura are open for learning".
Teddy said school boards and principals had been "planning and preparing" ahead to make sure teaching and learning continued.
"We connected with schools and kura across the country last week and our regional staff have been working with those school and kura leaders who anticipated they may experience some disruption."
The ministry said it did not currently hold vaccine status information but was "investigating options" for collecting it on a national basis in a way that didn't create extra work for schools.
New Zealand Educational Institute Te Riu Roa president Liam Rutherford said it did not have regional data but knew the number of unvaccinated members represented a "very small number" of their 50,000 members.
The union would work with unvaccinated members who requested assistance to ensure "any employment processes resulting from non-compliance with the vaccination mandate are conducted fairly".
It had been receiving a "high number" of calls from members – both as employers and employees – about rights and responsibilities.
