‘Unfair’ for unvaccinated staff to care for residents
COUNCIL LEADER SAYS ALL WORKERS SHOULD HAVE JAB
A COUNCIL leader says it would be “unfair” to let care home residents be looked after by staff who refused a Covid-19 vaccination.
Councillor Kay Cutts, Conservative leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, said she “shared the concern” about unvaccinated care home workers.
During a meeting of the Covid-19 resilience, recovery and renewal committee yesterday, Councillor Cutts said that if it was her relative in a home, she would want those caring for them to have received the jab.
Councillor Cutts said: “I would’ve expected all the care workers to seriously consider being vaccinated.
“We do have a duty of care to people who live in those homes and if they are being exposed to disease because of someone’s reluctance to have it, then I think we need to think quite seriously about how that’s operating.
“If it were my relative in a care home, I’d be very concerned if they weren’t making quite sure that anyone who dealt with my beloved person wasn’t vaccinated.
“I do think we are now going to have quite a strong view on this.
“If they are not going to be prepared to be vaccinated, they probably can’t deliver services which are close personal services because that wouldn’t be fair to the person they are looking after.”
Her comments came after the publication of an NHS document suggesting hospitals could consider redeploying staff who have refused to get the Covid jab.
The document, which has been seen by the Health Service Journal, says: “If the risk to the member of staff, their colleagues or patients is still very significant, they could be moved into a less exposure-prone setting as an option.”
It was recently revealed that 35 percent of care home staff in Nottingham city who were eligible for the vaccine had not received it. Jonathan Gribbin, director of Public Health for Nottinghamshire, said: “In our care homes in Nottinghamshire, more than 80 percent of staff and residents have already been vaccinated. “Compared to other areas, we are doing well.”
I would’ve expected all the care workers to seriously consider being vaccinated
Councillor Kay Cutts