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Unvaccinated NHS workers to be banned from seeing patients under new government plan
Many have opposed the new policy of mandatory vaccines, saying it will result in the loss of ‘thousands of jobs’
NHS workers will be legally required to receive both Covid vaccinations under the government’s new plan to reduce hospital transmissions.
As reported by The Times, the government is set to publish a consultation today on plans to make Covid vaccination a condition of employment for the 1.2 million frontline NHS workers across the UK.
According to the report, those who refuse the vaccine will be barred from seeing their patients, resulting in redeployment or, in the worse case scenario, the loss of their jobs. As it stands, around 8% of the health service’s workforce are still unvaccinated – that’s around 116,717 members of staff.
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A government source confirmed the rumours, saying that the prime minister personally backed the plan for mandatory vaccination, adding: “It’s only right that those who are caring for people who are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus should be vaccinated. This will save lives.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reportedly concerned about the role of unvaccinated staff in the spread of the virus in hospitals, with him telling the BBC: “What I’m particularly concerned about is that in great hospitals like this, 75% of the people who are succumbing to Covid are not vaccinated.
“What I would really say to everybody is come on now. It’s a great thing to get a vaccination.”
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This comes after the government announced that, as of November 11th, vaccination will be mandatory for all care workers across the country, despite the concern that tens of thousands of staff members could leave the profession for good.
The NHS confederation, which represents organisations in the health service, has argued against the new policies, saying that compulsory vaccination is unnecessary because NHS staff are ‘overwhelmingly doing the right thing’.
Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers and deputy chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “This is a complex issue and health employers are committed to supporting their staff to feel confident to get vaccinated and help protect themselves as well as their patients and colleagues.
“Any announcement to make the vaccination mandatory for social care workers will also have an impact on NHS staff, especially those who provide healthcare in social care settings.”