Two London NHS hospitals have said they could lose 1,000 employees if they do not get vaccinated in line with new Covid-19 rules.
From 1 April, frontline NHS staff in England will be moved into other roles if they still have not had two Covid vaccine doses.
Matthew Trainer, CEO at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust said 17.4% of its 7,550 staff were unvaccinated.
To be fully vaccinated by 1 April they must have had a first dose by 3 February.
Trainer warned that up to 1,300 staff at the trust’s two hospitals, King George in Ilford and Queen’s in Romford, would be lost to frontline services.
The least vaccinated staff were thought to be maternity services, children’s health and clinical support, he told trust board members this week.
Covid-related staff shortages
Care home sector fears permanent loss of staff
How to manage cover for long-term sickness absence
In a letter to staff, published with the trust’s board meeting papers, Trainer asked workers to have the vaccine to reduce their risk of hospitalisation and lower the chance of passing Covid on to others.
“If redeployment is not possible, then based on the latest advice we have received your contract of employment is likely to be terminated on 31 March,” he said, adding: “I am very sad to have to write to fellow NHS colleagues in this manner.”
Meanwhile, King’s College hospital chief Dr Clive Kay said his job was to encourage workers to get jabbed – and 10% of his 14,000 staff were still unvaccinated.
“We must treat them with kindness, with compassion, we must give them every single opportunity to talk through if they don’t want the vaccine… but ultimately it is their choice,” Dr Kay told the BBC last weekend.
Care homes are missing a third of the staff they need and more than one in four have closed their doors to new admissions in a deepening labour crisis that is “putting safety and dignity at risk”.
With thousands of care workers off sick with Covid on top of a rising number of vacancies, the situation in social care has become “grim, difficult and relentless”, according to the National Care Forum (NCF), which ran a survey of its not-for-profit care-home members.
Omicron absences are running at 14% on top of an 18% vacancy rate – a sharp increase on estimates before the pandemic – as beleaguered care workers quit jobs, often for better paying roles in retail or warehouses. The picture is even worse for domiciliary care, with two-thirds of providers forced to decline families’ new requests for help because they are short of carers.
Care home staff faced a deadline of 11 November 2021, which has contributed to a high rates of staff shortages and absences. New figures show the sector is missing a third of the staff required leading to more than one in four closed their doors to new admissions.
With thousands of care workers off sick with Covid on top of a rising number of vacancies, the situation in social care has become “grim, difficult and relentless”, according to the National Care Forum (NCF), which ran a survey of its not-for-profit care-home members.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
More than 11,000 care home staff are off work because of Covid-related reasons.
Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today
Browse more human resources jobs
