Frontline NHS staff must be vaccinated
FRONTLINE NHS workers and social care staff will need to have Covid-19 vaccinations in England to continue in their jobs, the Health Secretary has announced.
In a Commons statement, Sajid Javid said there is no doubt that health and social care staff “carry a unique responsibility” in the work they do and “we must avoid preventable harm”.
He said only those who do not have faceto-face contact with patients or who are medically exempt will not be required to have two doses of a Covid jab, with enforcement of the rule from April 1 next year.
But the Government has conceded that the policy could have a “significant impact” on the health and care workforce, with estimates suggesting that as many as 123,000 could leave their jobs as a result.
An impact report estimates that by the end of the grace period around 88,000 health workers, including 73,000 NHS staff, and 35,000 social care workers will remain unvaccinated.
It warns that any reduction in the workforce “may lead to reduced or delayed services”, with the NHS already facing a record backlog of care and grappling with high vacancy rates.
Estimates included in the document suggest that around 54,000 unvaccinated staff will take up the offer of a jab as a result of the policy.
The decision applies to health and wider social care settings that are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The Department of Health and Social Care said the regulations cover health and social care workers who have direct, faceto-face contact with people while providing care, such as doctors, nurses, dentists and domiciliary care workers.
They will also apply to ancillary staff such as porters or receptionists who may have social contact with patients but are not directly involved in their care.
Care home workers in England have already been told they must be fully vaccinated by the deadline of this Thursday.
Mr Javid told MPS the decision to make Covid-19 vaccinations compulsory for NHS staff does not mean the Government does not recognise concerns about “workforce pressures” this winter.
He added: “Allow me to be clear that noone in the NHS or care that is currently unvaccinated should be scapegoated, singled out or shamed.
“That would be totally unacceptable. This is about supporting them to make a positive choice to protect vulnerable people, to protect their colleagues. And of course to protect themselves.”
More than 100,000 people working in the NHS in England remain unvaccinated, the Cabinet member also told MPS.
“The take-up throughout the NHS in England is 93% of the first dose, 90% of two doses, and that does leave - the latest number I have - 103,000 people in the NHS, that work for the NHS, that are unvaccinated, so not even one jab.
“It’s hard to know what portion of that number will take up the offer of vaccination.
“If we look at what has happened with social care - care homes - since that policy was announced, there was a significant fall in the equivalent number and I think we can certainly expect that here.”