A tribunal has told a New Zealand nurse she brought “discredit to the profession” for comments she made during an interview at a COVID-19 freedom demonstration in 2021.
At the rally, Debra Elizabeth Green spoke with Chantelle Baker, a self-styled social media journalist and a prominent opponent of government COVID-19 policy.
The rally was attended by those who opposed vaccine mandates, lockdowns, and were sceptical about the efficacy of vaccines.
Ms. Green, at the time working as a pool staff nurse at Christchurch Hospital, wore her uniform to the demonstration and commented to Ms. Baker about the “segregation” of unvaccinated people at the hospital.
She also said “vaccine-damaged” patients had been admitted, and that staff were “blind” to jab side-effects.
“The bulk of the patients would be vaccinated. If you’re not vaccinated you get segregated, you get put in a different part of ED, put into isolation,” she said.
“I had one consultant on my last night, she stood in front of our big board with everybody, all the patients and all their symptoms and she said, ‘What’s going on? Why have we got so many patients?’
“It’s all cardiac, cardiac, cardiac, short of breath, collapses, falls, and I just can say ... this is adverse reaction, adverse reaction,” she said in reference to myocarditis, a known side-effect of the jab.
“All of our wards are full of people having cardiac problems, people with flare-ups from their cancer, like you name it. I guarantee a hospital is full of vaccine damaged, it’s just, people were blind, people just cannot see it.”
The Nursing Council received seven complaints over Ms. Green’s appearance in the video concerning the spreading of misinformation about the vaccine, with one complainant saying her comments posed a “risk of public harm.”
Christchurch Hospital terminated her employment in November 2021 after Ms. Green refused to get vaccinated which was a breach of the health worker’s mandate as set down by the government.
Tribunal Hands Down Tough Penalties
Ms. Green was not present at the hearing, but had earlier defended her comments via a letter, in which she said her concerns were “appropriate to raise.”“What I said regarding vaccine injuries/adverse reactions and how they were being treated by health professionals at the time, was truthful.”
She did concede however her claims were hyperbolic.
“That said … I did exaggerate the concerns I had, which I did not mean to do. For this I do wish to apologise,” she said in the letter.
The tribunal found Ms. Green’s comments were “misleading” and her conduct “carried a significant likelihood of undermining the public trust and confidence in both the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the nursing profession.”
“Ms. Green was not an expert as she portrayed and had no legitimate authority to purport to whistleblow about the circumstances of the ED to Christchurch.”
She was suspended from nursing for three months, ordered to pay $18,000, and for the next 12 months, must let prospective employers know about the tribunal’s findings.
Other Censured Health Professionals
Ms. Turner was dismissed from her position in 2021, but challenged the decision in the Employment Relations Authority in 2022—and subsequently challenged their ruling in the Employment Court in 2023.
She later filed for a hearing in the Court of Appeal.
The Employment Court stated in their judgement that the Facebook posts were not “considered or balanced discussions but involved memes and strongly worded statements or allegations against individuals and groups.”
“For example, on one post Ms. Turner simply writes: ‘They say its [sic] safe Ha!’ and then shares a post from another person saying they had experienced a rash or hives after receiving the vaccine,” the Court said.
“In another post, Ms. Turner attaches a post from the Government’s Unite Against COVID-19 page and writes: The injection is not ‘free’ the taxpayers of NZ ARE paying for it! I’m glad the word voluntary is used, so we can decline the injection,” the judgement read.
Across the Tasman, West Australian junior Dr. Mitch Sambell, was found to have “engaged in professional misconduct” by the Western Australian State Administrative Tribunal after he made comments at a Special Electors’ Meeting opposing state COVID mandates.
Mr. Sambell said, “I witnessed a flood of medical conditions we see every day—cognitive decline, stroke, heart attacks, blood clots—within days of patient vaccination.”
“Our governing body, AHPRA, threatened to strip doctors’ medical registration if we questioned or voiced concern for the vaccine or the pandemic response.
“I’m disgusted that the career I love has been used to destroy people’s lives, and honestly I’m ashamed to be called a doctor.”
Mr. Sambell was suspended for three months, ordered to pay $2,500 in costs, and attend education courses on COVID-19 infection control and vaccination.
