Bankstown Hospital scandal: Health workers abused, Jews transferring surgery after death threat video

Jewish people are moving elective surgeries to “safer” hospitals and devastated health workers have been abused amid the fallout from two nurses’ video threats towards Israeli patients.

The pair of Bankstown Hospital nurses face possible criminal and health prosecutions after widely condemned viral footage of them boasting of not treating Israelis spread on Wednesday.

Health Minister Ryan Park and Jewish leaders visited the hospital in Sydney’s southwest on Thursday morning as leaders try to reassure the community the hospital remains safe for all.

But those assurances have not assuaged fears among some Jewish people, Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said.

Some were transferring elective surgeries to hospitals they think “might be safer”, he said.

“These (two) people aren’t the only ones that harbour this ideology, that are consumed by this sort of hatred,” Mr Ryvchin told ABC TV.

“I’ve had many messages from members of the Jewish community asking things like, ‘should I have my Star of David removed, lest I be in the hands of a paramedic or nurse or orderly that holds these sort of views?’”

Nurses were to picket parliament on Thursday for higher wages but ditched plans after the video emerged.

They instead gathered to rally against hate speech and discuss their horror that two of their number could be fuelled by such hate.

The pair’s colleagues at Bankstown hospital were not only devastated by the comments but had also faced abuse from patients since the video emerged, NSW nurses and midwives union president O’Bray Smith said.

“This is not us. This is not how we are as a profession,” she told the rally.

“We believe there is no hate in healthcare.”

Intensive care nurse Wing Besilos wiped away tears as she discussed the incident, which had completely “flabbergasted” her.

“It doesn’t reflect the majority of nurses at all,” she told AAP.

“We don’t look at their race, gender, sexuality, age - we take care of people because they are our patients.

“These are tears of anger - I’m really really angry at the moment.”

The two nurses have been stood down pending their potential sacking, revocation of their registration and criminal charges.

Premier Chris Minns said he strongly believed the video and the views expressed in it by the two nurses were an “aberration”.

“I can’t promise that every single health care worker doesn’t harbour the same hate or the same views, but what I can say is that the evidence is that it’s a small, small fraction,” he said.

A comprehensive review into the incident is taking place, while police investigations continue.