Health authorities in Finland have admitted they have been forced to call back unvaccinated nurses due to worker shortages a week after Finland banned the unjabbed from frontline roles in healthcare.
Last week, Finland’s amendment to its Communicable Diseases Act that banned unvaccinated healthcare workers from jobs requiring interaction with patients and customers came into effect, but some health authorities say they are forced to call back unvaccinated professionals as they faced “great” staff shortages.
The South Karelia Social and Health Care District (Eksote) health authority stated that it has had to call back some unvaccinated workers due to staffing issues.
“For special reasons, unvaccinated carers have had to be kept in work in some units because the staff shortage is so great. But there are also units where the unvaccinated do not continue working,” Eksote Director of Functional Capacity and Care Services Anu Koivumäki told broadcaster YLE.
Administrator Maijaterttu Tiainen of the municipal authority Sosteri in the hospital district of Itä-Savo, also noted that unvaccinated nurses had been called back to work.
“Each unvaccinated worker has [met with] an infectious physician, and a separate decision has been made on working in a restricted unit for a limited period of time. They have been asked back so that the number of nurses is sufficient to ensure the care and care needed by customers and residents,” Tiainen said.
Finland is not the only country to deal with labour shortages after mandating Wuhan coronavirus vaccines for healthcare workers.
In Canada, the provincial government of Ontario has considered forcing hospitals to re-hire unvaccinated workers due to shortages.
Ontario Hospital Association head Anthony Dale stated last month that the provincial government was thinking about changes that “would make it mandatory for public sector employers, including hospitals, to re-hire employees that have been terminated for failing to comply with COVID-19 vaccination policies.”
The UK government is also moving towards scrapping mandatory vaccinations for healthcare workers, with reports at the time of the announcement noting the impact the mandate would have on staffing levels and the ability of the health service to provide care.
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