Care homes across England have found themselves in crisis due to the government’s mandated ‘no jab no job’ policy.
The policy, which has come into force today, means that if you work in a care home and are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, you will be banned from entering the care home’s premises.
Many have said that this new policy will see the end of multiple care homes across the country, with 60,000 staff members expected to leave their jobs, according to research.
Data from the Department of Health and Social Care also suggests that 105,000 domiciliary care workers have not been fully vaccinated.
The data also suggests that 83.7% of domiciliary care workers have had their first dose and 74.6% have had both doses.
Whilst not unusual for the social care sector, temporary staff from agencies may have to be utilised more.
Rachel Harrison, national officer at GMB, the union for care workers said:
“The care sector is past a crisis – it’s on the verge of collapse.
“November’s cliff edge vaccine deadline forces more career carers out of the door.
“The workforce can’t cope. GMB is campaigning for a minimum of £15 an hour for care workers, professionalisation of the service, an end to zero hours contracts and proper sick pay.
“Anything less and dedicated carers will continue to leave the profession and the sector will implode.”
NHS Workers
This week, Sajid Javid extended the policy to include all frontline NHS workers in England to have to be fully vaccinated from April 1, 2022.
The Health Secretary stated that only those who do not have face-to-face contact with patients or who are medically exempt, do not have to receive the jabs.
The policy is also set to be regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), meaning the new rule will apply to all health and social care settings.
The Department of Health and Social Care’s data suggests that 92.8% of NHS workers have had their first dose of the vaccine and 89.9% have had both doses.
Recruitment
Due to the new policy, many health and social care organisations will struggle with their recruitment, in a time where recruitment in the sector is difficult anyway.
Many staff members have their own reasons to refuse the vaccinations, from medical exemptions to religious beliefs.
If you are looking for new members of staff and are particularly worried about what is to come, HLTH Resourcing could be your solution. We have a pool of talented, experienced and incredibly professional senior care staff from Registered Managers to Interim Managers, who could be the perfect fit for your organisation.
Our process works by booking an initial call with a member of the HLTH Resourcing team, where we get to know you, your organisation and the position that you are in so we can offer the best support possible.
So, if you are suffering from care staff shortages because of the new legislation, give our interim recruitment team a call for some urgent support.
