Government is looking at plans to make Covid vaccine mandatory for care home staff

The government has confirmed it is considering making it compulsory for care home staff to have the Covid vaccine.

A number of care providers including Barchester, Care UK and Advinia Healthcare have already taken the decision to make it mandatory although there are exemptions, such as if the employee is pregnant.

Health secretary, Matt Hancock, said legislation would need to be put in place to make it compulsory for all care workers.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 Today programme, he said: “There is a duty of care that people have if you work in an elderly care home, after all, residents of elderly care homes are the most vulnerable of all to Covid.

“There are important moral questions on both sides, there would be a change in the law required, so this is something that we are considering but we haven’t made a final decision on and we do want to hear from care homes and indeed care home staff on this question.”

There is already mandatory workforce vaccination in place in the UK as NHS doctors have to have the Hepatitis B vaccine.

Three-quarters of care home staff have had Covid vaccine

The latest data from NHS England shows that up to 14 March, 76 per cent of staff working in care homes for older people had been vaccinated. The lowest take up is in London where only 62 per cent have had the vaccine.

The take up of the vaccine among older care home residents has been much higher with 94 per cent having received a vaccination.

Sixty-five per cent of staff working in care homes for people under the age of 65 with disabilities as well as home care workers have received the Covid vaccine.

Matt Hancock claims he has been under some pressure from care homes to make it mandatory.

If it is made compulsory it is likely to just be in England as social care is a devolved issue.

The care provider organisation The Independent Care Group (ICG) is against the move as such a rule might put people off from joining the sector.

'It should be voluntary'

ICG chair Mike Padgham: “It is vital that care workers have the vaccine because of the vulnerable people they are looking after and I can understand the temptation to make it compulsory.

“But I have always been of the belief that we cannot force someone to have an injection and it should be voluntary. We have to remember people’s human rights as we live in a free society.

“There are already 120,000 vacancies in the care sector, we don’t need to put anything else in the way that might prevent people from joining our rewarding profession.”

GMB, the union for care workers, is in agreement with ICG’s stance. Kelly Andrews, lead social care officer said: “This heavy handed, we-know-best approach will cause unnecessary anxiety and discontent when our care workers are still fighting the pandemic.

“We need our care workers valued, recognised and rewarded - not strong armed or bullied with threats of the law.

“The least they could do through the vaccine rollout is try to gain the confidence of the workforce and work with us to remove the barriers to getting vaccinated."

She wants to see care workers getting full sick pay for potential vaccination side effects and support services to talk through workers' concerns.

'Receiving a jab is not a big ask of people'

However Tony Stein, chief executive of Healthcare Management Solutions, which operates around 80 homes across the UK, backs the plan, saying: “Whilst I’m somewhat shocked at the news it’s something that the whole sector has been discussing for some time. This is more than a practical issue - it goes to the heart of what we, as healthcare professionals feel is necessary to protect our residents, their loved ones, the NHS and those that can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons.

“Whilst compulsory vaccination is unusual, it is not unprecedented. NHS staff are already required to be vaccinated against Hepatitis B if they are to work on NHS premises.

“Receiving a jab is not a big ask of people and whilst we have already seen that the vast majority of our workforce have been very happy to receive the vaccination in the fight against this terrible disease, we welcome further moves to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those in our care.”

Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, has said previously that NHS and care home staff have a "professional responsibility" to get vaccinated.

Low take up of vaccine does create 'significant challenges' for care providers

James Sage, head of the health & social care sector team at Royds Withy King, has said the low take up of the vaccine by care workers “creates significant operational challenges for care providers”.

The MHRA advises people with a history of significant allergic reactions should not have the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, after two people suffered adverse reactions. While the World Health Organisation (WHO) advises pregnant women not to have the Covid vaccine unless they are at high risk of exposure.

However with the huge number of deaths in care homes being one of the biggest tragedies of the pandemic, care providers are under pressure to make their care homes as safe as possible.

Mr Sage adds that “requiring new staff to be vaccinated could be lawful in some cases; however, care needs to be taken where an applicant for employment does not want to be vaccinated because of a protected characteristic.” He warns that “refusal to offer a job in those circumstances could give rise to discrimination claims”.