Staff can continue to work after refusing Covid-19 jab

HOSPITALS CAN consider redeploying staff who have refused to get the Covid-19 vaccine, a new NHS document suggests.

In the material, NHS England sets out how employers could consider moving workers who have declined the vaccine to a

“less exposure-prone setting”. The document sets out steps on how employers can ensure their staff who have declined the offer of the vaccine are safe at work.

Measures proposed include making sure such staff have the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and that they have had a mask fitting, if they need to use certain respirator masks.

NHS workers should also have awareness of infection control and undertaken the appropriate training, and that they have an up-to-date risk assessment.

The document, published on Friday and seen by the Health Service Journal (HSJ), adds: “In addition to the above, 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.

“These sensitive conversations may require input from local trade union representatives and HR.”

Earlier this month, the health service in England called for managers to have one-to-one conversations with staff who refuse the Covid-19 vaccine before March 12.

An email seen by the HSJ called on NHS trusts to “redouble our efforts in keeping each and every one of our staff safe”. Helen Donovan, of the Royal College of Nursing,

said: “No-one can be forced to have any medical treatment – this includes vaccines. The UK governments are not making it mandatory for health and social care workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19.”

The British Medical Association encouraged its members to be vaccinated.