Red tape puts off volunteer vaccinators
RETIRED medics have been dissuaded from returning to the NHS front line to help the coronavirus pandemic by bureaucracy including a requirement to provide 21 pieces of evidence, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
One retired GP, Claire Barker, said that it was “impossible” for her to apply because she did not have the required proof, including evidence of Prevent Radicalisation training.
It comes as the NHS boss overseeing recruitment revealed only one in eight retired medics who originally applied to return to the front line have been able to work. Andrew Foster told The Telegraph that of the 40,000 doctors and nurses who applied to return in March 30,000 were eligible but only 5,000 had been given jobs by July.
He said “everybody could see that there was going to be a second wave and a need for vaccinations “and the team “tried very hard to create something a bit like the military reserve”.
Mr Foster, a former hospital chief executive who coordinated workforce supply and deployment in the NHS Bringing Back Staff programme said he believed the plan was ignored because it came with a £30 million price tag.
A DHSC spokesperson said last night
NHS England was “working to increase the employment rate of these professionals”, and the “concept of a permanent NHS reserve” was being piloted.
It comes as hospitals warn that they are at risk of being overwhelmed by a second peak, with one trust sending out a plea on social media for volunteers.
Despite widespread warnings of staff shortages, retired doctors who have volunteered to return to work have warned that they are simply being ignored by the NHS or tied up in bureaucracy. Dr Barker, who only
retired in 2017 after running her own practice for 30 years, said that it was “absolutely impossible” for her to provide all the documents requested and was doubtful that a current GP would be able to.
She said: “I am not proud, if they just want me to point people in the right direction I am happy to do that. But I have spent my life doing jabs like this, it is very frustrating”.
Dr Brian Cooper, a retired consultant physician who has been trying to volunteer to get back on to the front line since April but has been ignored, said those in his position felt “frustration, disillusion and sadness that we feel we can’t help”.
An NHS spokesman was unable to provide details on how many staff had returned to the front line. She said they were “delighted that former members of NHS staff have applied to become vaccinators and have completed their online training, and we continue to process these as fast as we possibly can”.
But she added that “regardless of a person’s background” there are checks and training required for a person to be able to work within safety standards.
It is understood the standards for vaccinators are set by the MHRA.