Frontline healthcare staff who have not yet been vaccinated against Covid-19 have just one week to get their first vaccination or face losing their job.
In order to comply with the vaccination mandate in England, staff have until Thursday 3 February to receive their first jab in order to be fully-vaccinated ahead of the 1 April deadline.
The requirement will apply to all patient-facing staff at Care Quality Commission-regulated health trusts, including those in the private sector providing NHS-commissioned services, unless they have an exemption.
The Royal College of Midwives and Royal College of Nursing earlier this month called for the plans to be delayed amid high absence rates and concerns about mass redundancies.
As at 16 January the NHS had 80,092 unvaccinated staff (5.4% of the total workforce).
Staff have staged demonstrations protesting against the vaccine mandate in London, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds.
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Deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, said earlier this month: “With 3 February fast approaching… it is concerning that significant numbers of patient facing staff remain unvaccinated.
“And despite the best efforts of trusts to encourage vaccine-hesitant staff to have their jabs, today’s guidance is crystal clear: unless they are exempt, staff who choose not to be vaccinated or cannot be redeployed will unfortunately have to be dismissed from their roles.
“Trust leaders have consistently warned that the potential loss of staff who decide not to be vaccinated at a time when the service is under huge operational pressure and already grappling with nearly 100,000 vacancies is the main risk from this policy.”
A survey of trust leaders by NHS Providers found over 90% were concerned about the potential for additional staffing gaps in both the NHS and social care after 1 April.
Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers and deputy chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “While the majority of health and care workers have been vaccinated, even small reductions in staffing numbers can cause disruption, especially in smaller services such as primary care. No leader wants to see this given the high standards of care they wish to maintain, the significant vacancies that exist across the NHS already, and the care backlogs that have built up during the pandemic.
“Nonetheless, leaders recognise that even with a longer deadline, there will be staff who unfortunately continue to decline to be vaccinated and while efforts will be made to find alternative roles for them, this won’t be possible for everyone.”
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