Sajid Javid (pictured today) said he was leaning towards making vaccines mandatory for NHS staff
Non-vaccinated NHS staff are set to be asked to get their Covid jobs or lose their jobs under schemes being considered by the government.
Some 100,000 healthcare workers – or seven per cent of NHS staff – have yet to show up for their first dose.
but the health secretary Sajid Javido Today admitted he was ‘leaning’ towards making vaccines mandatory for all NHS staff, and that this was the ‘direction of travel’.
He said those who failed to get the jab were leaving seriously ill patients at risk of catching the virus and dying.
Labor said today NHS staff should be ‘encouraged’ to get the vaccine, but it should not be mandatory. Sir Keir Starmer said the policy would risk putting thousands of people out of healthcare before a ‘very, very hard winter’.
Care home staff already working in this sector need to get a covid vaccine, all expected to be ready by November 11.
But it has sparked an uproar in the care sector, which warns that many homes will be forced to close because they may not get enough vaccination workers.
It is feared that a ‘no jab, no job’ policy could exacerbate staffing shortages in the NHS, with thousands of doctors and nurses still lying vacant.
Studies show that vaccines are safe and reduce the risk of someone becoming seriously ill or dying from the virus. They also reduce the risk of catching it in the first place.
The graph above shows the proportion of NHS staff who have been vaccinated against Covid in England. There are some 100,000 workers who haven’t found their first job yet
Asked whether Covid vaccines would be made mandatory for NHS workers, Mr Javid told Sky News: ‘I am leaning towards doing it.
‘At this point there are not about 100,000 people[vaccinated in the NHS]but what we saw with the care sector is that when we announced the policy…
‘That’s what I hope, if we can do the same with the NHS, we’ll see.’
He added: ‘If they haven’t vaccinated by now then there is an issue regarding the safety of patients and it will be taken very seriously by the government.’
No final decision has been made on the plans, and Mr Javid said it would take ‘some time’ to go through parliament – giving people time to jab.
But he added: ‘I don’t want to put a time limit on this, but it won’t be months and months.’
On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Javid said: ‘We have not made a final decision…
‘While I have yet to make a final decision, this is the direction of my journey.’
Asked if this would address the staff shortage in the social care sector, Mr Javid said: ‘If we look at this as an example when we announced – it’s going to be a legal requirement soon – we There has been an absolute increase in the number of social care workers who are finally getting their vaccinations.
“We have been told by CQC that there are currently around 30,000 out of over one million employees who have not yet been vaccinated. A large part of them will be exempted.
‘So, while there will be an impact on the social care workforce that I will not see, I think the net result is a safer social care sector.’
Labor has stopped supporting the plans but said all NHS staff should be ‘encouraged’ to get vaccinated.
Sir Keir said: ‘I think we should encourage all NHS staff to double-vaccinate and give them the support they need.
‘I won’t make it mandatory. I think a lot of people are at risk of losing their jobs.
‘We have a crisis coming down for the NHS and this could be a very difficult winter. The last thing we can afford is to put thousands of people out of their jobs in the nhs.
‘The regime that has been in place for the past nine months – my wife works in the NHS – is to either be double-jabbed or test negative three times a week. This is what I would focus on instead of going down the route of compulsory vaccination.
Ministers launched a six-week consultation on compulsory vaccination for NHS staff early last month. Its results have not been published yet.
Some vaccines are already required in some parts of the NHS, including the hepatitis B vaccine for all people working in at-risk parts of the health service, such as surgery.
Most people who catch the virus are able to clear the infection, but in rare cases it can trigger liver failure, a potentially fatal complication.
Dr Laila McKay, policy director at the NHS Confederation, said NHS leaders have a ‘mixed’ view on mandatory vaccines for NHS workers.
She told Times Radio: ‘We’ve talked to our members about this, and it’s a mixed picture because most of them agree that in some ways, making the vaccine mandatory can go a long way in ensuring That more people get the vaccine. .
‘But on the other hand, if some people decide they don’t want the vaccine that could lead to problems with staff recruitment and retention and we’re going into this incredibly challenging winter.
‘If we start losing employees during this time it can be incredibly challenging, so it’s a real balance.’
Jeremy Brown, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at University College London Hospital, who sits on the Joint Committee on Immunization and Immunization, told Sky News: ‘If you are an NHS staff dealing with patients and meeting the general public you should be vaccinated – It’s a professional thing, it’s a security thing.
‘We know there have been a lot of infections in the hospital that likely came from staff rather than patients.
‘And if you haven’t been vaccinated, I think, you shouldn’t have to deal with patients or the general public – whether it’s mandatory, it’s always a difficult thing, but I think it’s a matter for every individual professionally. should be vaccinated.
He said he would not answer questions about whether employees should lose their jobs if they had not been vaccinated, but added: ‘I think they should change their roles, maybe not lose their jobs.’
Care home owners already fear they may have to close because of the government’s ban on unvaccinated workers, with 40,000 frontline workers still to be forcibly laid off.
Providers were already struggling to fill a record number of vacancies, and say they will need to close down units, floors or even entire residential homes if the policy is in place.
This could mean that pensioners are moved to hospital wards, where they can be looked after by former care home workers.
Care industry bosses are already pleading with ministers to place mandatory vaccination orders over the winter, when they are already expected to come under heavy pressure from Covid and the flu.
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