Health Minister Mark Butler said Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh are ‘unable to practise nursing anywhere around Australia.’
Two nurses who threatened to kill Israeli patients at Bankstown Hospital in Sydney have been deregistered and permanently banned from practising anywhere in Australia.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council of NSW suspended the registrations of Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh effective Feb. 13, 2025, following a viral video where they boasted about harming Israeli patients or refusing them treatment.
“As a result, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) has automatically updated their record on the public register of practitioners and as a result, this means the two nurses are unable to practise nursing anywhere in Australia, in any context,” Health Minister Mark Butler confirmed.
Sickening Comments Have No Place in Healthcare
The video, originally captured in a video circulated by Israeli influencer Max Veifer, sparked outrage after Lebdeh was heard saying: “I won’t treat them, I will kill them.”
Meanwhile, Nadir added: “You have no idea how many Israelis… came to this hospital and I sent them to Jahannam [the Islamic term for hell], I literally sent them to Jahannam.”
Veifer released a new full unedited version of this video call on Instagram on Feb. 14, stating, “The police are asking me for the unedited version. I have nothing to hide. Here it is and if they tell me where to send it I will send it to them.”
The Prime Minister, Health Ministers, NSW Premier, Opposition leaders, unions, and Jewish community groups have all condemned the comments.
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Minister Butler emphasised that healthcare professionals have a duty to treat all patients equally, regardless of their background.
“The idea that you would single out a particular group in our community and indicate you wouldn’t care for them, let alone actively threaten their lives, runs against every single principle in our health care system,” he said.
Nursing and Midwifery Council Takes Action To Protect Public
The Nursing and Midwifery Council, which includes nurses, midwives, community members, and legal representatives, decided to suspend the nurses at a meeting on Feb. 13.
“The Council has taken this action in order to protect the health and safety of the public and to maintain the public’s confidence in the nursing profession,” the council said.
“The Council has advised the suspension to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra ) for recording on the public register of practitioners.”
The Nursing and Midwifery Council said they were not able to release any further details about the decision, including the reasons or any details about the complaints. However, both have the right to appeal.
“The two registered nurses have the right to appeal the Council’s decision before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal,” the council said.
Ongoing Investigation Into Patient Safety
The incident has also sparked concern about the safety of all patients treated within New South Wales (NSW) public hospitals, particularly Jewish patients.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park confirmed that authorities are reviewing past patient records at Bankstown Hospital to ensure no patients were harmed under the nurses’ care.
Park said at this stage there was “no evidence” that patients had been adversely impacted by the actions of the two nurses, but stressed it was still early in the investigation.
“But I want to be clear, we’ve only really began that detailed work and I have to do this thoroughly, it has to be done very very diligently, because I want to be able to make sure that I can assure the community, and in particular the Jewish community who were hurting over the last 24 hours, that they can continue to have faith confidence and trust in our health and hospital system here in New South Wales,” he said.
Shadow Health Minister Kellie Sloane has urged for the records of all patients treated by the Bankstown Hospital staff to be urgently reviewed and examined for any “adverse or unexplained outcomes,” on Feb. 12.
“Additionally there should be a review of the broader workplace culture,” she said.
The Epoch Times has contacted the Health Department for comment.
