- Covid-19 vaccination to become mandatory for all nurses in England
- Covid-19 vaccination to become mandatory for all nurses in England - Ian M November 9, 2021, 10:03 pm
- HoC statement & debate - Ian M November 10, 2021, 6:08 pm
Posted by Ian M
on November 9, 2021, 10:03 pm
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First they came for the care homes... 90% already fully vaccinated, yet still this one-eyed focus on threatening peoples' employment to push it up a few percentage points, damn the consequences. Looks like it still needs parliamentary approval - maybe they'll have an actual debate this time? - but seems doubtful they'll stop it with Labour's only tepid criticism being about potential staffing shortages in an otherwise 'laudable' policy. At least Unison & Unite have made reasonably strong statements in opposition (scroll down). No mention of the challenge this poses to fundamental human rights of bodily autonomy, freedom from discrimination, freedom of thought etc (discussed in the context of covid here: https://www.bihr.org.uk/the-covid-19-vaccine-and-human-rights-a-short-guide ) jeers, I ***** https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccination-to-become-mandatory-for-all-nurses-in-england-09-11-2021/ Covid-19 vaccination to become mandatory for all nurses in England 09 NOVEMBER, 2021 BY GEMMA MITCHELL Health and social care secretary Sajid Javid announcing plans to MPs Source: Parliament TV Being fully vaccinated against Covid-19 is set to become compulsory for all health and social care staff in England who have face-to-face contact with patients, the government confirmed today. The move to make Covid-19 vaccination a condition of deployment is already coming into force from 11 November for staff working in care homes for adults. “I have carefully considered the responses and the evidence and I’ve concluded that the scales clearly tip on one side" Sajid Javid Speaking in the House of Commons today, health and social care secretary Sajid Javid said the policy would now be extended to include NHS staff as well as those working in the independent and local authority sectors. Subject to parliamentary approval, the requirement to be vaccinated against Covid-19 will become enforceable from April 2022. The rule will not apply to those with a medical exemption or those who have no direct contact with patients or service users as part of their role. A connected proposal to also mandate influenza vaccination for health and social care workers would not be taken forward at this stage, added Mr Javid. The confirmation by Mr Javid today follows various leaks to the media suggesting that the government was pushing ahead with the plans to extend mandatory Covid-19 vaccines to NHS and other health and care staff. The latest figures show that 90% of NHS staff overall have had both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, although Mr Javid said in some trusts it was as low as 80%. The government believes there remains more than 103,000 NHS workers and 105,000 domiciliary care workers who are not yet fully vaccinated. The decision to go ahead with mandatory vaccinations for care home workers and then all health and care staff was informed by responses to two separate public consultations. The most recent consultation on extending the policy received more than 34,000 responses and Mr Javid said respondents had raised concern about the potential staffing implications. He said: “Support for making vaccination a condition for deployment was tempered with concerns that some people may choose to leave their posts if we went ahead with this. “I have carefully considered the responses and the evidence and I’ve concluded that the scales clearly tip on one side. “The weight of the data shows how our vaccinations have kept people safe and they have saved lives and this is especially true for vulnerable people in health and care settings.” He said introducing mandatory vaccinations in the NHS would help to avoid preventable harm as well as protect patients, staff and the health service itself. However, Mr Javid added that it “doesn’t mean that I don’t recognise concerns about workforce pressures this winter and indeed beyond as a result of some people perhaps choosing to leave their job because of the decision we’ve taken”. “We simply can't afford to lose thousands of NHS staff overnight" He said he had chosen to give 12 weeks between parliamentary approval and the requirement coming into force in the spring to allow time for “workforce planning” and work to convince those who remained unvaccinated to take up the offer through, for example, one-to-one conversations. The consultation also asked whether flu vaccination should be mandated, however Mr Javid said the feedback received was that “we should focus on Covid-19” . The requirements will also not apply to booster vaccines. However, the government said the situation would be kept under review and that the regulations could be amended going forward to make booster and flu jabs mandatory if deemed necessary. Shadow health and social care secretary for Labour, Jonathan Ashworth, urged Mr Javid to “proceed with caution”. “We know the NHS is under the most intense pressure this winter already, we know that waiting lists are at close to 6 million and we know there are over 90,000 vacancies across the NHS,” he added. “So there will be anxiety at trust level that a policy, however laudable in principle, could exacerbate some of these chronic understaffing problems. “We simply can't afford to lose thousands of NHS staff overnight.” The government has committed to publishing an impact assessment before MPs vote on the new policy and Mr Ashworth said Labour would be looking at this and the detail of the regulations carefully. "The government and employers must continue to engage with the small minority who have chosen not to have the vaccine" Meanwhile, unions represented health and social care staff have raised concern about the move to mandate vaccinations and said focus should be on persuasion not coercion. Unison head of health Sara Gorton said: "This wasn’t something the government needed to do. “The effective and supportive approach taken by NHS trusts has persuaded the overwhelming majority of health staff to have both Covid shots. “Now this sledgehammer policy risks doing more harm than good.” She warned that forcing jabs in care homes had prompted an “unprecedented staffing crisis” and the same could now happen in other settings. Unite national officer for health Colenzo Jarrett-Thorpe said it was the union’s view that a “campaign of persuasion of the benefits of the Covid vaccination is the best way to achieve maximum coverage”, rather than mandating them. “The NHS is already seeing a severe ‘recruitment and retention’ crisis with an estimated 90,000 vacancies and imposing a regime of mandatory vaccination will just exacerbate this crisis as we go into a very difficult winter for the health service with an exhausted staff still battling the continuing 21-month-old pandemic,” he warned. Pat Cullen, general secretary and chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, noted that the vast majority of nursing staff had taken up their vaccine offer straight away, having led the roll out among the public. “With the five months until this decision takes effect, the government and employers must continue to engage with the small minority who have chosen not to have the vaccine,” she added. “This is vital to understanding their concerns, supporting them to understand the importance of the vaccine and to make that important choice." |
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