Covid 19 coronavirus: Australian nurses share horror stories of abuse by patients, public

Health ministers and nurses have revealed "appalling" acts of abuse to health care working on the frontline or doing their shopping.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has called for an end to the abuse, which has seen nurses, midwives, and doctors in the firing line.

Among the most distressing incidents logged with the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association, was of an intensive care nurse allegedly assaulted after boarding a train wearing her scrubs.

Nurses across Sydney have also lodged complaints after being abused in public including in shops and supermarkets.

Police were called to Sydney McDonald's after a pregnant midwife was abused by a driver behind her.

In some of the worst cases, nurses have reported being spat at and verbally abused by patients waiting for treatment or tests.

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"I'm appalled. I think every right-minded member of our community would be that our doctors and nurses are being targets for these people who don't seem to get it," Hazzard said.

"I remind that very small section of the community that that very same doctor, that very same nurse, when you see that person in a uniform in a hospital - they might be putting a tube down your throat to keep you alive. You will wish you hadn't actually done what you did previously.

"The rest of us are with our doctors, nurses and health staff. And I want all of us as a community to make it clear to that small minority that your behaviour is completely unacceptable. Completely.

"It's not Australia, it's not the way that Aussies behave."

The call to support healthcare workers comes after Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said "disgusting behaviour directed towards Asian-Australians" should be reported to the Human Rights Commission.

"It's called a 'global pandemic' for a reason. It affects all of us equally," he wrote on Twitter.

"And we must all stand up against cowardly acts that seek to hurt and divide us.

"If you see or hear something – say something. Call it out. Report it. Send a strong message that there is absolutely no place in Victoria for xenophobia and racism."

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website