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Mandatory Covid jabs for English care home workers come into force from 11 November


Covid jabs will be mandatory for all care home staff and auxiliary workers in England from mid-November after the regulations were signed off by care minister Helen Whately. The approval on 22 July means the 16-


week grace period will end on 11 November. The policy was backed by MPs in a


Commons vote that passed by 319 votes to 246.


The regulations will also apply to auxiliary


care workers, tradesmen, hairdressers and others who need to enter a home to do other work unless they have a medical exemption. According to a Department of Health


and Social Care (DHSC) impact statement, the mandatory Covid jab policy could lead to the loss of around 40,000 staff with a replacement cost of £2,500 each to English care homes. DHSC estimates seven per cent of the


around 570,000 staff working in Care Quality


Commission-registered care homes may refuse to take up the vaccine before the end of the grace period. “This may place a temporary increased


strain on those workers already vaccinated, until replacement workers are recruited,” it said. “There is also an unquantified risk that


some care homes who have higher levels of vaccine hesitancy amongst staff will find it more difficult or costly to replace workers.” The loss of 40,000 English care home


staff would hit the sector with a one-off cost of £100m, according to DHSC.


National Care Forum chief executive Vic


Rayner said that assumption does not bear any reference to the costs of the policy itself. She added the DHSC figures demonstrate


the “very significant and potentially catastrophic challenges” for the delivery of care if the right level of guidance and support is not available. Meanwhile, HC-One is to make Covid jabs


a condition of employment for all staff in England, Scotland and Wales. Chief executive James Tugendhat said the


UK’s largest care provider would be working closely with HC-One staff who have yet to be vaccinated. “Throughout the vaccine roll-out to date,


we have been encouraging and supporting colleagues to get their vaccine,” he added. “Our move to make the Covid-19 vaccine a condition of employment follows months of providing colleagues with factual information and reassurance about the vaccine.”


CQC data reveals extent of Covid crisis in English care homes


Data published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has revealed the extent of the impact of Covid-19 in care homes in England during the first and second waves of the epidemic. The data on the number of


death notifications involving Covid-19 from care homes across all regions shows 39,265 residents died in England between 10 April 2020 and 31 March 2021. Some 18,329 died between 10 April and


30 June 2020, 659 between 1 July and 30 September, 6,934 between 1 October and 31 December, and 13,343 between January 2021 and 31 March 2021. South-east England was hardest hit with


7,404 Covid deaths followed by the north- west with 5,748. The north-west fared better in the second wave, with around 2,000 fewer deaths than in the south-east between 1 January and 31 March. The data released by the CQC shows


deaths notified by nearly 7,000 individual care homes. Care homes with ten or fewer beds were excluded due to that data being considered to be personally identifiable. The data covers deaths of residents


involving Covid-19 under the care of the provider as notified to CQC, regardless of where the virus was contracted or where the death occurred, including in the care home, in hospital, in an ambulance or in any other setting. Kate Terroni, CQC’s chief


inspector for adult social care (pictured), said: “We have a duty to be transparent and to act in the


public interest, and we made a commitment to publish data at this level, but only once we felt were able to do so as accurately and safely as possible given the complexity and sensitivity of the data. “In doing so, we aim to provide a more


comprehensive picture of the impact of Covid-19 on care homes, the people living in them and their families. It is important to be clear, however, that although this data relates to deaths of people who were care home residents, many of them did not die in or contract Covid-19 in a care home.” Care England expressed sympathies to


the relatives of all those care home residents and staff who have died of Covid-19. “Care homes have been right at the front line of this dreadful pandemic. My thoughts


August 2021 • www.thecarehomeenvironment.com


go out to all those bereaved relatives as well as those dedicated staff who have been on high alert often working around the clock with no end in sight as well as all bereaved relatives,” said chief executive Martin Green. “Every death is a tragedy and it would


be highly disrespectful if lessons were not learned at every level. Similarly, every death needs to be seen in context,” he added. National Care Forum chief executive


Vic Rayner said the data is a reminder of the “terrible toll that has been felt by those who live in care homes, their loved ones and the workforce”. “It is important that CQC recognises


that the information published today is not an indication of the quality or safety in individual care homes and that many of the notifications relate to deaths of care home residents which occurred in other settings,” she added. “We urge the government to be ambitious


for social care and work together with people who receive care and support, their families and the wider care sector to develop a long- term strategy that recognises the vital role of social care in supporting and delivering essential services for millions of people every day.”


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