Mandatory Covid jabs to be imposed on NHS staff despite warnings

Health bosses have warned losing unvaccinated staff during winter may risk patient safety

Rebecca Thomas
Health Correspondent
Wednesday 03 November 2021 15:55 GMT
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<p>Mandatory Covid vaccinations for NHS staff to be introduced next year </p>

Mandatory Covid vaccinations for NHS staff to be introduced next year

Mandatory Covid vaccinations will be imposed on NHS staff, despite fears it could cause a workforce exodus, The Independent understands.

Sources have confirmed the government is expected to make an announcement tomorrow on plans to make jabs a condition of employment for the 1.3 million NHS staff in England.

Ministers are likely to delay the new requirement until next spring, after health bosses raised concerns over the impact it would have on NHS staffing levels during this winter.

Earlier this week. NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts in England, warned the imposition of vaccinations could drive staff out of the NHS. Around 100,000 workers are yet to have a Covid vaccination.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, warned the government needed to acknowledge the risk to patient safety if thousands of unvaccinated NHS staff opted to leave their jobs rather than have the vaccine.

He said the Department of Health and Social Care should consider delaying the move until after the winter, which he said was likely to be “very, very difficult”.

A survey of health bosses, carried out by NHS Providers, revealed two thirds supported mandatory vaccinations and a third against the idea.

A similar proposal for social care, with a deadline for 11 November, has seen vacancies jump from six per cent to 10 per cent.

The Care Quality Commission said last month some social care providers were being forced to close their doors to new patients because of their difficulty recruiting nurses.

When asked on Wednesday if NHS staff would be told they must get mandatory jabs, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “We have consulted on this and will set out the next steps in due course. We believe it is important that those who are helping the most vulnerable have the protection available to them.”

On Monday Mr Hopson warned a similar problem could happen in the NHS.

He said: “The government needs to explicitly acknowledge the risk to patient care and safety from the NHS losing unvaccinated frontline staff and publicly say they’ll do all they can to work with the NHS to manage this risk. Trust leaders want to hear government understands this risk.

“It’s not just about avoiding cross infection by unvaccinated NHS staff. It’s also about the potential loss of those staff who don’t take the vaccine when the service is already under huge pressure and carrying 93,000 vacancies.

“We know, as the chief medical officer has said, that we have a very difficult winter coming up and the NHS is going to be absolutely at full stretch.

“So, it makes sense – if the government decides to proceed with this - to set the deadline for mandatory staff vaccination once that winter period has passed, no sooner than April 2022.”

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