Cairns Ebola scare: outcry after doctors are suspended over Kovack comments

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Queensland doctors were stood down for speaking to the media about nurse Sue Ellen Kovack who was later cleared of virus

Sue Ellen Kovack
Sue Ellen Kovack was released after twice testing negative for Ebola. Photograph: Facebook

The treatment of two doctors who were stood down for speaking to the media has sparked recriminations about the handling of the Ebola scare in far north Queensland.

The doctors from Cairns hospital were reportedly suspended on full pay for raising concerns that are now being investigated by an independent panel appointed by Queensland Health.

The president of the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation, Tony Sara, called for their immediate reinstatement, saying the suspension was about keeping doctors under control.

He said one of the doctors was representing the Medical Staff Association when he spoke to the media about the Cairns nurse Sue Ellen Kovack, who was released from hospital on Monday after twice testing negative for Ebola.

“It is very appropriate that he raises issues of concern where he believes that they have not necessarily been properly addressed or dealt with by management,” Sara told ABC Radio on Tuesday.

Cairns hospital officials have previously defended the handling of Kovack’s case despite some concerns among staff about the effectiveness of her isolation when she presented with a fever after returning from treating Ebola patients in Sierra Leone.

Queensland’s health minister, Lawrence Springborg, said the suspension was appropriate, and misinformation given by the doctors had eroded public trust in the hospital system.

“I’m very concerned that there was misleading information on the weekend for whatever reason which created an impression that the nurse had not received the treatment in isolation that she should have done,” he told ABC Radio.

“This nurse was treated appropriately in an isolated environment in an isolated room in the emergency department.”