NHS: Coronavirus

(asked on 1st December 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to make up for the shortfall of NHS staff who may leave the NHS after refusing to take the covid-19 vaccine.


Answered by
Edward Argar Portrait
Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This question was answered on 16th December 2021

We continue to encourage all health workers to make the positive choice to take up the COVID-19 vaccine to help protect the people they care for, themselves and their colleagues. We have implemented a 12-week grace period, allowing time for both workforce planning, and for those colleagues who are not yet vaccinated who may now wish to do so. The enforcement date of 1 April 2022 will assist providers over the winter and help to minimise workforce pressures. We are also increasing the range of opportunities for staff to receive the vaccine through walk-in and pop-up sites as part of the booster vaccination campaign.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have written to all providers providing early guidance on vaccination as a condition of deployment to ensure smooth implementation and have provided guidance to assist providers in preparation and planning. Guidance has also been provide on the use of one to one conversations for all unvaccinated National Health Service staff with line managers. We are also increasing engagement with targeted communities where uptake is lowest, including with ethnic minority and faith networks to encourage healthcare workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

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